Fire In The Water: Extinguishing Fire
by SeaGoddessOfStarlight
Summary: Part 3 of Fire In The Water. "Life was fair, but it was also unfair. It was fair when people would end up laughing and being happy at the end of a story, but it was unfair when someone that was dearly loved had to die or when things seemed to get worse before they could get better. But there was uncertainty, which was when no one knew if something was done for better or worse."
1. Prologue

**Hey! I return with the third installment of my series! I am so excited for this one, considering that we finally move to New Orleans in this story with all the drama that is going on. And I am also happy to say that we finally move to The Originals!**

 **I only hope that you guys enjoy this story as the previous ones and that I don't disappoint.**

 **To let everyone know, I own nothing of The Originals (no longer Vampire Diaries), except for the obvious things that are not from the show.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

Summer, the warmest season of all, was passing by the city of Bend, which was a beautiful city of Oregon. The summer's breeze made itself known to every person, animal, tree and river, for summer was still beginning. The days were longer and the rays of the sun found ways to dissolve the shadows that torment any person's life. It was a season to be filled with light, joviality, expression and wholehearted action. This season made it possible for people to simply release whatever held them back and break chains that seemed to be weighing them down. It was a time for new beginnings.

In the beautiful city of Bend, one could say its beauty was in the nature that surrounded it. Also, there was a hotel that was nestled on the banks of the scenic Deschutes River and was ideally located in the heart of Central Oregon. The view was panoramic, which a room in the hotel had a view of. The balcony of said room had its doors open, the wind rustling the curtains at the doorways of the balcony, cooling the room and its residents, who rested in the king-sized bed that had bronze sheets that covered two bodies that were tangled together under them. The sun was only just rising in the sky, illuminating the sky with its brightness as the birds sang a lyrical tune.

Within the sheets of the king-sized bed, one of the figures began to stir awake, being careful not to awaken her companion as her eyes fluttered open to reveal pale jade-green eyes. This woman possessed a natural beauty that was something to neither exaggerate nor claim as average. She had an oval-shaped face with pale complexion and high cheekbones. She had a slender body and beautiful light-blonde hair that cascaded a few inches past her shoulders that started out straight and ended in waves; bangs of her hair were swept to the side over her forehead. A soft dusting of freckles ran under her almond-shaped eyes to over the bridge of her nose and she had soft, pink lips that were tight as she slowly came to.

This woman's name was Gwen Pierson, recently brought back to life by her distant ancestor, from whom she was the doppelgänger of. For nearly eight years, she had been a ghost that was stuck between e realms of the living and the dead, never finding any footing in life or the afterlife. But her ancestor—Lilwen—managed to not just bring Gwen back, but also the infamous Kol Mikaelson, who was the other figure that rested on the bed with Gwen, fast asleep. This chore had a price, and so Lilwen now resided within the small bermuda blue crystal teardrop pendant, which was wrapped in silver filigree around the edges. It hung on the silver brass connector attached to her silver necklace that was around her neck.

Gwen hummed as her eyes fell on Kol's peaceful features as he slept, which was the only time she got to see him as peaceful as he looked with the sun's rays falling on his skin. She smiled big, but showed no teeth as her front stuck to his side with an arm on his bare chest, while one of his hands encircled her waist to keep her snuggled to his side. After returning to life, there had not been a single night where Kol did not have some physical contact with her, neither managing to find sleep without physically touching the other. And so Gwen continued to smile as she stared at Kol's face and his tousled brown hair, thanking whoever had the grace and kindness to have given her a second chance at life with the man she loved.

Slowly and ever so carefully she managed to prop herself on her elbow to stare down at Kol, and she guessed he must've been half awake, considering she could never catch him by surprise, since he had his vampire abilities. Still, she continued with her journey as she managed to straddle his waist that was clothed with grey sweats, since he never sleeps with a shirt; just the sweatpants and only the sweatpants. But he did have to buy many shirts, since Gwen grew to only sleep in one of his shirts with only her panties on and nothing else, except for socks whenever she got too chilly.

Right at that moment, she felt too radiant to feel anything as she traced her fingers over Kol's bare chest with the sheets on her waist. She slowly traced her fingers over scars that she had come to learn ever so slowly, but still taking her undivided time to learn each and every one every time she and Kol made it to dawn while cuddling after having had an intense night of love making, and she had only gotten as far as learning of two scars, leaving be the small cut that was just above his beating heart. She knew that even with him and his family turning, there was still a small reminder that not even his accelerated healing could erase.

"I know you're awake," she whispered with her waved hair framing her face, smiling as a grin grew on Kol's lips, but he kept his eyes closed.

"How would you know?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed, but continued to grin.

Gwen chuckled softly as she stopped her hands on top of his hard abdomen. "Give me some credit; I'm still learning how to even sleep at the correct time." She sighed halfheartedly. "I am still getting used to the fact that I have to eat and go to the bathroom on a regular basis."

Finally, Kol opened his eyes and stared up at her own with his chocolate ones. "Well, I can attest to your other need that seems to be sated almost every night." He grinned at this, causing a tinge of red to appear on Gwen's light-skinned cheeks. "I do enjoy how much I get to make you blush," he said as he slowly traced his hands up her thighs that were on either side of his waist to settle them on her waist under his shirt that she wore.

In all of his years, Kol could not remember another time he was so pathetically whipped by another female, and his had his fair share of women. They could have been human, vampire, werewolf, or a witch with the last one being his favorite one to pass a good time, but he could never find himself even _remotely_ attached to _any_ of them on _any_ level. He never imagined he'd be this attached to a ghost that seemed as lost as him, which may have been what had attracted him to her in the first place, even if he was too stubborn to admit it to anyone. But now, he found himself feeling too lucky to be able to spend a single second in the presence of this woman that didn't ask much of him. She didn't want something from him that would give her riches or power, she didn't want to manipulate him in any way, she didn't change him to be domestic or docile. No, she never asked any of that, and yet he found himself wanting to be good for her, to be good to her. He knew he sounded like a lovesick fool, but he would never admit that he _enjoyed_ it. He got to enjoy spending his time with a person who understood him and was loyal to him and loved him the amount that the speck of his human-self yearned for, so he had zero completes and would never have them.

For Kol, death itself would have to come to him personally and fight him before he ever let any form of harm come to his Gwen. He was determined to not let the only person in the world that mattered to him to be take away from him.

In simple words, Kol Mikaelson was immensely in love with Gwen Pierson.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Kol lifted himself up from the bed to sit up with Gwen still straddling him and their eyes locked on one another with no sign of leaving the other's gaze. Kol felt elated to actually _hear_ Gwen's heart beat rapidly and _loudly_ within her chest. He gave her no sign as he crashed his lips against hers, eliciting a surprised squeak from her, but she caught up and returned his kiss as her arms wrapped around his neck. He growled deeply into her mouth the moment her fingers dug into his hair. She moaned the moment he lifted his knees against her back to bring her flush against him while giving her moments to catch her breath, considering it was a necessity that she needed now. They continued with their passionate kiss while Kol's hands left a scorching trail as they ever so slowly began to lift his shirt that she wore, his thumbs barely tracing the curve of her breasts under the shirt that he still hadn't removed, but left her abdomen bare. His fingers played with the edges of her panties that he wanted to get rid of to have her wear Victoria Secret's panties and only Victoria Secret's panties; his fantasies only giving him this sense of possession by having her all to himself.

There was no Rebekah to interrupt them or pull Gwen away from him to do some petty thing that he could care less about, especially since his sister had this uncanny ability to interrupt them when he and Gwen were having a moment to themselves.

There was no Elijah around to scold him about propriety, even go as far as to teach him about how to treat a woman, which would be the last thing he'd hear from his oldest brother before shoving him off a cliff.

And most importantly, there was no Niklaus for him to compete with for Gwen's attention and affections; he had all of that to himself and he didn't care how selfish it was.

Gwen's mind was pure and utter blank as she followed Kol's lead, gasping and moaning against his mouth. The feeling of leading up to making love always left her breathless and sore, not that she didn't love it. She liked being in control, but she just _adored_ and _loved_ when Kol took control, which always left them both never sated and yearning for more than just having sex. He actually made her feel loved and revered, as if she was some goddess to him, which was a feeling that she never thought to be possible to feel. It had only been a week since their 'resurrection', and the two nights they've spent in Bend were the only nights that they actually slept with few kisses here and there, and Kol understood why. Gwen had no complaints with Kol's supernatural stamina, which only made her feel in heaven, although a tad sore and exhausted after with some bruises that Kol notices and _almost always_ feels guilty about.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from Kol's lips with her eyes scrunched closed in determination to stop to be able to say what she wanted to say, biting her lip to keep herself in check. "I want to go today," she said as she opened her eyes to meet his, which were still filled with lust and undeniable need. "It's their anniversary, and I think it's fitting."

"All right," Kol said as he moved a hand to push away stray locks of her from her face with understanding in his eyes that Gwen caught on to. "We'll get them some flowers and then we'll visit." He won't mention how eager he is to get back on the road, itching to have Gwen smiling and not worry about visiting her family.

Gwen only smiled and locked her lips with his once more before jumping out of the bed and running into the large bathroom of their luxurious room. Kol would not settle for any less, especially when he wanted to give Gwen everything she desired, even when she never asked for any of it.

"You're going to leave me hanging?" Kol called as he still sat on the bed with the sheets a mess around him.

"I'll make it up to you!" Gwen said, her voice muffled, and Kol knew she was just brushing her teeth, so he plopped back on the bed with a lopsided smile on his lips to wait for Gwen to get ready, so that he can get ready himself. He heard the shower turn on and the curtain being pushed aside. "I'm sure that giving you a shower will be enough."

Gwen did not have to say more, for Kol was already making his way to the bathroom to have his ears be engulfed by giggling the moment he stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Are they good enough?" Gwen asked Kol for the umpteenth time, her furrowed eyes on the flowers they picked as they walked through the cemetery's gates, the City Cemetery to be exact.

Kol could only roll his eyes fondly as he watches Gwen worry over flowers for her parents. She grasped the vase the flowers were in with both of her hands, forcing him to keep his stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. He also recognized the way they were clothed. He wore a dark buttoned-up shirt with dark jeans, a black jacket and shoes; he was darkness, her darkness. Gwen wore a cream coat with blue jeans, brown booties, and a blue scarf around her neck and a black blouse with white hearts adorning it; there is also her necklace around her neck, but it's under her scarf. She was light, his light, but with a hint of darkness to her.

"They are fine, darling," Kol assured her as they passed lines and lines of gravestones with names, dates and notes engraved on them. The breeze passed through trees and their leaves as the sun shined in the sky with a few white clouds. "They will love them."

Gwen glanced up at him with a timid smile. "Thank you."

He grinned before throwing an arm over her shoulders to bring her flush against his side. They walked for a couple of more minutes before Gwen recognized the familiar line of gravestones that her family was in. Gwen held on tighter to the vase holding the rosemary flowers, their blue color matching Gwen's scarf.

Finally, Gwen halted a few feet from two gravestones that were situated at the end of the line, but under a big oak tree, providing shade and a sense of remembrance for the people that were buried there. Gwen tried to move forward, but found herself stuck in place, staring at the two gravestones, one slightly bigger than the other. She felt like she was being held in place with how heavy her body felt, air almost knocked completely out of her lungs.

Kol noticed this and leaned into Gwen's ear to whisper, "You owe it to them and yourself, darling." He glanced at the gravestones, and he was surprised to actually feel disappointed at not being able to have not met the three people buried there in person. "We will visit next year, so I suggest you take advantage of this time you have with them."

Gwen nodded, her eyes still trained on the gravestone before she managed to leave Kol's hold and approach the gravestones, feeling quite nervous. It was as if she was being stared by the people she held most dear to her. "Hey, Mom and Dad," she whispered as she stared at the bigger gravestone with Richard Pierson and Sienna Pierson engraved on the gravestone. She sucked in a sharp breath as she kept her tears at bay after having had years of practice to not lose her control. "I miss you, I always do." She shifted from one foot to another in her nervousness, while also feeling Kol's eyes on her back. "I brought someone special to me, his name's Kol. I don't think you'd get along with him, Dad; he's too cocky for you." She heard Kol snicker behind her. "But I know he'd charm you, Mom. You'd probably be teaching him how to dance or make him his favorite food, which would leave Dad jealous or annoyed." Gwen chuckled to herself at the perfect image, but she sobered and sighed. "I love you."

Gwen crouched in front of the gravestones and picked up half of the flowers, placing a kiss on them. She placed half of the rosemary flowers in front of the gravestones with a ribbon keeping them together. Her gaze then turned to the gravestone that was right next to her parents' gravestone, but this one only had one name engraved on it: Willow Pierson.

Gwen stood up once more and approached her younger sister's gravestone. "I think I miss you the most, Willow." Gwen could only place the vase with the rest of the flowers in front of the gravestone, not able to say anything more without bursting into tears and lose control of her emotions, which was still dangerous with her being a witch now. "I love you."

Gwen retreated from the gravestones and turned around to walk back to Kol, meeting his eyes before being embraced by his strong arms. His hold on her comforting as a few tears escaped her eyes as she held tightly to the back of his jacket. Kol then placed his arm around Gwen's shoulders and began to lead her away from what remained of her family.

With one glance to Gwen's parents as he walked away with Gwen, he vowed to watch over Gwen and keep her safe, even if it costed him his life to do so.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue. Leave behind any comments or opinions in reviews, Faves or Follows. Do not be shy to PM me and tell me your thoughts.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey! Here is the first chapter, which I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Remember that I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

In a thousand years, family had always been the main priority of one Elijah Mikaelson, the currently oldest of the remaining Original family. There had never been a moment in his immortal life that his family always had to come first, even if it placed his happiness at the back of the line. But he could not ignore his morality or the vow he made to his family after they had been cursed to walk the earth with such incredible power under their skin.

 _Always and Forever._

Those words will forever be embedded in his heart and soul, but he had caught himself thinking it was more of a curse of its own than a vow. It was a job, a chore, a burden that he was the only one that seemed to care deeply for, too deeply, if he was talking truthfully to himself. Still, he found that the value of family was something he could not forsake, even though his body urged him to think of himself for once and leave his family to their affairs with no interference from his part, but his ways are too engrained in his mind for him to simply turn from them.

And so, once more from the other countless times, he had to come to the aid of his family with no rest of the many revelations that had unraveled in a single night. Amongst those revelations, he found hope, hope for his family and the reunification that will make his siblings whole again. For centuries, he stood aside and watched his siblings deteriorate as the years went by, leaving behind the human side they once possessed in favor of what they thought they were better off becoming, but he never lost site of the few glimpses of who his siblings once were.

Still, he could barely grasp the idea of hope being found in a reckless night that his brother, Niklaus, spent with a werewolf that granted him a child that he _will_ see be born. He will watch over the girl carrying his _nephew_ or _niece_ , those words still foreign to him, even when he had acquired all the proof he needed for them to actually be used.

And yet, Elijah found himself in a pickle, considering Klaus attested to not care about the werewolf, Hayley, or the child that she was carrying. Rebekah refused to help him with Klaus, which left him with one other option that he had not wanted to deal with just yet. He will forever condemn the horrible tempers his family held—himself included—and also the grudges they all could never let go of.

To bring his family whole, Elijah had to consider the lengths he would have to go to be able to see his dream through, even if he had to open old wounds and make new ones. His thoughts so as to how to get through to Klaus only brought him to the other person on this planet that he saw that could have an impact on his younger brother, but he knew that such person was under the vigilant watch and protection of a brother that was volatile and wilder than anyone else in his family, who also held great grudges on him and the rest of his family.

For years, Elijah recognized himself as a hypocrite. While he favored to help a sibling, he neglected the wants and needs of the rest, even going as far as aiding Klaus in plunging the daggers in the chests of his other siblings whenever Klaus saw fit. Now, he had a chance to redeem himself and bring his family together— _all_ of his family. And that included the brother he thought he lost mere months ago—Kol Mikaelson. His youngest brother that he neglected and turned away because he never bothered to think of him as any more than an evil that needed to be caged and he loathed himself for thinking such thoughts of his own flesh and blood.

If he had to face judgment for his past mistakes at the hands of Kol, then he was ready to face it, just as long as he met his goal at the end.

Elijah needed whatever help he could get, and he knew of one other person who cared for Klaus, maybe as much as he did.

Sitting on a bench, having pondered his thoughts as few people passed him by in the empty streets of New Orleans at night, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He checked his contacts and found a phone number that was sent to him with a brief explanation of recent events. The phone number was probably sent in secret for any emergency and he found himself dialing and placing the phone to his ear, willing for the person to pick up at the first try.

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

"I had fun tonight," Gwen said to Kol as she turned her head to him with a giddy look on her face as she not so patiently waited for whatever surprise Kol had in store for her, apart from the romantic dinner they had in a restaurant with an amazing view to the Eiffel Tower.

Right after Gwen and Kol finished their visit in Oregon, Kol was much eager to get them away and be ignorant of everything else. They quickly got in a plane and headed to the one place Kol had promised to take Gwen to before he was killed, and he was going to keep his promise to take her to this one place that made her smile, which was France. They had settled in France for over a month, staying in the same hotel they stayed the last time they were in France, but Kol had actually bought them a house in Crespières, which was a quiet and small town with few deaths, thanks to Kol having lost control twice in three months, which was a record that Gwen was not going to forget anytime soon. Kol getting them a house for them came as a big surprise for Gwen, not having expected him to actually do something of the like.

Not a day went by with either of them being bored or having nothing to do, since Gwen was still learning how to be alive again and get used to all of the many things that it applied to being alive. With Gwen insisting not to get housekeepers, Kol was left helping her with chores, which he whined about constantly. He would never admit it to her in his life, but he actually came to enjoy how mundane their lives were at that moment with no supernatural business ruining the small world they managed to make for themselves in the small village. And yet, they both knew better than to hope for this tranquility to last them forever, considering the family Kol belonged to and who was Gwen's best friend.

Kol snorted at Gwen's comment as he kept his gaze on the road, driving them home from having spent the day in the city, which had him in a good mood. "You make it sound like I am taking you home after a first date."

Gwen chuckled at this as he relaxed against the passenger seat. "But I did have fun." She considered her words and decided to add something else. "Well, except for the part where you almost had me parading around the whole of Victoria's Secret store in only in underwear and had to stop you from murdering those boys."

Gwen remembered that spectacle all too clearly. She made the mistake of giving in to Kol's pout and few kisses that persuaded her to let her take control of the underwear she would model for him and the one she was sure she was taking with her. Even with almost the whole staff compelled and the dressing rooms to themselves, Gwen had to almost wrestle Kol to the ground after a group of men whistled and took photos of her in her underwear. Kol conceded for the next time to either have the store closed for them or join her in an individual dressing room.

"I should have killed them," Kol mumbled to himself as he placed a warm, calloused hand on the bare skin of Gwen's thigh, considering she only wore a black skirt that matched with a floral black crop top, a cream cotton cardigan and black boots.

Gwen grinned as she took his hand that was on her thigh and rubbed his knuckles to calm him after seeing how tight he was gripping the steering wheel with his other. "What's done is done," Gwen said, and thought of a way to take his mind off of what happened. "Besides, you bought almost something out of everything." Gwen smirked as she glanced over at him. "It's safe to say I will only ever have underwear from Victoria's Secret with you."

"Damn straight," he said, a cocky smirk on his lips, to which Gwen rolled her eyes at with a plan already forming on her head for when they got home.

The sky was dark and who knows what time it was by the time that Gwen and Kol arrived to their home, noticing the many houses that already had their lights off, which meant it was relatively late. Kol parked the car in the dirt driveway of their home, leaving the car out of the garage.

The house Kol bought for them, which had been a surprise for Gwen, was a four-bedroom home in a peaceful residential area. The home was close to the city, but Kol found it was better to simply drive there, since he learned they always ended up going shopping or Gwen got too tired with walking. The house was located within a gated community on a gentle slope overlooking a lovely park, allowing for privacy and comfort. When moving in, Gwen learned it was built in 1978 and renovated in 2006, the three-story house exhibited classic charm alongside contemporary changes here and there. The house included a newly-tiled Norman-style roof, traditional chocolate-brown timbers, antique doors, ceramic tile and hardwood floors and a stone fireplace.

The ground floor consisted of a sunken living room and salon with French doors leading out to the patio, formal dining room, fully furnished contemporary kitchen, one bedroom, and a shower room. Upstairs were two more generous bedrooms with west-facing views of the park, a large TV-rec room and a full bathroom. This second story featured hardwood parquet floors, a balcony, and an antique wood spiral staircase leading up to the fourth bedroom, a large annex with skylight.

A short stroll led to impeccably maintained tennis courts and swimming pool available to the community. The whole place made for people starting their lives, which was what Kol wanted for Gwen, and was glad she had not minded the size of the house. He knew her well enough to know that she did not need overpriced objects and such to be happy, but he only ever did this to not just indulge her, but himself by being graced with a smile or laugh.

"I'll get the bags," Kol said as he opened Gwen's door to help her out of the car after she gathered her purse.

Gwen gave him a knowing look. " _I'll_ get the bags." Kol could only smirk as she opened the trunk to their Cayenne to get to the bags, which were all from Victoria's Secret. "Don't think I don't know how your dirty mind works, Mikaelson."

"Of course, you do," Kol mumbled as he followed her to their house. They both entered through the front door and placed their coats on the hat and coat stand that was near the front door.

While Kol went to the kitchen to get himself something to drink and relax in the living room to light up the fireplace, Gwen went to their bedroom to put away her clothes before joining him downstairs, feeling nervous about what she was going to do for Kol. She would be a horrible girlfriend if she neglected to satisfy her boyfriend when he gave her everything she desired without her even thinking about ever asking him of anything, not to mention how her inexperience with intimacy must be frustrating him. So she had one idea that she was sure he would enjoy.

Quickly to not have Kol come looking for her, Gwen searched in the many bags of Victoria's Secret, looking for a specific item that Kol bought with no intention of forcing Gwen to wear it, considering how revealing it was. With being alive, Gwen's physical insecurities surfaced as she now had to worry with how she dressed, how she kept herself, how to keep her hair and many things, and it was all to be Kol's girlfriend. There were so many women that eye him on a daily basis, gorgeous women that were taller, bustier, skinnier than Gwen, and she noticed all of this.

Smiling at having found what she was looking for, Gwen quickly undressed, throwing her clothes in the hamper at the corner of the room, except for her cardigan that she still needed. She went to the walk-in closet of the room and put on the lace babydoll lingerie that Kol had liked. It was white lace with a matching panty. It had a lace-up corset-style back that reached to just cover up her bottom. She went to the mirror in the closet to inspect her figure and took her hair off the messy bun she had it in to let her hair bounce in waves over her shoulders. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she went back in the room to put on her cardigan to cover herself before walking downstairs, her heart racing within her chest, which she knew Kol would notice straight away.

She soon found Kol on the sofa in the living room with the fireplace lit and nursing a drink in his glass, probably whiskey or scotch, which he liked most. Gwen took a deep breath to calm her nerves and the raging warmth that wanted to burst out of her skin as she held the cardigan tightly to cover what she had hidden under it.

"You took your time," Kol stated as he took one last sip of his drink before placing the glass on the coffee table in front of him. His eyes remained on the fireplace while he grinned. "I thought I had to go fetch you."

"I just had an idea," Gwen said as she stood next to him, waiting for him to turn his eyes to her to notice her form and become curious. Their only source of light was the fireplace, which actually set the mood she was aiming for. "I thought we could play a game."

"A game?" Kol asked with furrowed brows, but his next question died when his eyes met hers and her form. He was confused but by Gwen's rapid heartbeat, he knew that whatever she had under her cardigan was going to work in his favor. "What game?" He smirked as he leaned back on the sofa while she stood in front of him, still holding the cardigan in place.

"I'll ask a question," Gwen began to explain as Kol's eyes remained on hers; his eyes intense with lust and eager to have her in his arms with how her body was trembling in anticipation. Kol simply enjoyed the effect he had on her, but he never forgot the effect she had on him, which was much more intense. While he gave her the satisfaction and made her feel like a bloody goddess, she had the uncanny ability to make him human around her presence and make him bend over backwards for her. "Should you answer correctly, I give you a prize."

"What sort of prize?" he asked as he went to grasp her hips, but she slapped his hands away with a playful grin on her lips, to which he almost pouted.

"I ask the question and I decide what you get," she said, and Kol felt like a damn bastard with how lucky he was to not just have an innocent Gwen, but to also have this side that was growing bold and experienced with him and only ever him. "Let's start easy," she said, and Kol nodded for her to begin, determined to not fail a single question. "What is my favorite color?"

"Blue like the ocean," he answered without a second to even think about it.

Impressed at how fast he answered, Gwen to a step forward to stand between his parted legs as he leaned back on the sofa to let her do what she pleased…for now. "What is the color of my eyes?" She quickly closed her eyes, and Kol chuckled as he honestly enjoyed himself.

"They are a pale green," he began, not finished with such a simple description. If there was one thing Kol knew about women was how much they enjoyed being charmed, and he absolutely loved charming Gwen and getting her to blush. "They are like the forest in the early morning with a mist covering it and turning it from a deep green to a paler shade."

Gwen opened her eyes, smiling down at him. "All right," she said as she managed to straddle his lap while keeping her cardigan tight around her. "Where is my favorite place in the whole world?"

"I am going to be vain and say in Paris with me," he answered, earning a chuckle from her as he smirked proudly.

"You're lucky you said Paris," said Gwen.

Kol faked his shock and hurt. "My company is not enough?"

"I think it's too much," she teased him as she laughed. She sobered and took a deep breath before taking off her cardigan and throwing it on the floor, completely catching Koll off guard as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open with nothing to say. He went to pull her even closer to his body, but she held his wrists on either side of his thigs. "You haven't earned that prize yet."

Kol's patience was wearing extremely thin and wasn't sure for how much longer he could have control over his actions. He was so close to simply throw her on the sofa, and have his way with her right then and there, but he had to admit that he enjoyed this game too much to spoil it just yet. Still, the lingerie she was wearing was doing nothing to help him keep control over his actions. The white laced babydoll outfit hugged her curves perfectly and his hands itched to rip it apart.

"You're cruel," Kol told her, mockingly glaring at her.

"Show me where I love it most when you kiss me and I'll let you hold me," Gwen argued.

Kol wasted no time in placing his lips against her own, knowing how much she loved it how he actually took her breath away. She responded eagerly and wrapped her hands around his neck, her mind forgetting about the game as he lured her away from keeping her mind on the game and focus on them sating their lust for one another.

Before they could get too heated or passionate to care about their surroundings, a ringing interrupted their moment, causing Kol to growl at the offending sound. Gwen was surprised by the sound, considering it was her phone and she had yet to receive any calls or texts from anyone.

"Ignore it," Kol said as he began to kiss her neck, but she pushed him back against the sofa with a small smile on her lips.

"It's my first phone call, Kol," she said as she looked to the ground and searched the pockets of her discarded cardigan, Kol keeping a tight grip on her waist to not let her fall as she searched for her phone. She got it and sat next to Kol with her legs across his lap, which he rubbed in his annoyance. Gwen frowned, confused by who was calling her. "It's Elijah."

Kol groaned. "Fantastic." And he made sure Gwen knew he was mocking his excitement, but she ignored him.

"Stop being a baby," Gwen scolded him as she answered the call and placed the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

" _Good evening, Miss Gwen,_ " Elijah's voice greeted from the other end of the line.

"Likewise, Elijah," Gwen answered, smiling at the name that Elijah did not seem ready to stop using when referencing to her. "What can I do for you on this fine night?"

"It _was_ a fine night," Kol grumbled as he glared at the fireplace.

" _You can tell Kol I am deeply sorry for interrupting what I assume is a lovely night for you, Miss Gwen,_ " Elijah said, having heard Kol's words with his heightened hearing, trying to keep peace to be able to persuade Kol to join him and Klaus in New Orleans. " _I also come to you with a plea for help._ "

Gwen hummed pensively, but she was surprised that Elijah would need help from her, considering he is an Original. "Help you with what?"

" _Well, I will first express how glad I am with your return to the living,_ " the eldest Mikaelson began to say. " _I am also glad to find that Kol returned with you. I suppose I am in your debt for saving the life of my brother._ "

Kol scoffed before placing Gwen's legs on the sofa so that he could grab his glass from the coffee table to refill it once more with scotch. He needed more than five glasses of scotch to be able to handle a conversation with Elijah, a brother who had failed him countless of times and turned away from him at every turn, even when Kol spiraled and tried multiple times to gain his attention. Kol cannot remember a single time that Elijah favored him or even took his side in a most simple argument, for he received a scolding or criticism from Elijah about how he led his life every chance the eldest had the opportunity to make known. And, for once in his life, Kol was tired of trying to seek approval and acceptance from his family. As he poured himself some scotch, his eyes fell on Gwen, knowing that he only would ever need her, his family be damned.

"Getting used to being alive is proving to be a bit difficult," Gwen chuckled as she placed her legs under her to keep them warm as she propped the hand that held the phone on the armrest of the sofa. "It doesn't help that I actually have to practice witchcraft."

" _You're a witch?_ " Elijah asked with furrowed brows as he sat straighter on the bench, interested in this turn of events that could actually favor him.

"Immortal witch to be exact," Gwen said as she went to play with her necklace, but she remembered she left it upstairs, not wanting to be intimate with Kol while knowing that Lilwen could be watching them. "An ancestor of mine appeared, she was Silas' older sister and she was the one who actually brought me and Kol back to life." She kept quiet about Lilwen bound herself to her necklace, since Kol told her it could prove to attract unwanted attention. "I had this gene that she passed down and activated with a spell to make me immortal, but I am also a witch."

" _That is interesting and quite useful,_ " Elijah remarked. " _I can't say the witches in the French Quarter are not doing so well._ "

At this, Kol perked up. "What do you mean?"

"I'll put you on speaker," Gwen said and placed the call on speaker phone, placing the phone on the coffee table as Kol joined her on the couch with the bottle of scotch in one hand and the glass in the other.

" _Marcel is alive,_ " Elijah said, to which Kol snorted, but Gwen was lost. Probably sensing her confusion, Elijah continued. " _Marcel was a vampire that Niklaus took under his wing when he was a mere child and adopted him._ "

"Klaus mentioned that," Gwen said, the memory of Klaus talking to her briefly about his time in New Orleans coming to the front of her mind. "He told me he died at your father's hand."

" _Well, it appears he survived and thrived in the city we built ourselves to be our home,_ " Elijah said, and Gwen heard the anger behind his words. " _He managed to run the werewolves out of the French Quarter and I have not the slightest idea how he's accomplished that. And Niklaus is currently being blackmailed by witches to help them run Marcel and his people out of town because of his oppressive ways._ "

"It's 1914 all over again," Kol snickered, downing his scotch in one gulp before filling it up once more. "And you know this will somehow end with us being daggered in the end."

"Wait," Gwen said, interrupting them from drifting away from the topic that caught her attention. "What are the witches blackmailing Klaus with?"

" _His child,_ " said Elijah.

Kol began to cough the moment he took a sip from his glass, almost spitting it out of his mouth completely. Gwen froze in place as the image of a child filled her mind; not just any child. This was Niklaus Mikaelson's child, something that Gwen never thought Klaus would ever have and never mentioned he wanted in her time with him. Kol actually found himself amused by this and began to laugh, causing Gwen to turn to him with narrowed eyes.

"That was hilarious, Elijah," Kol said as he wiped the scotch from his chin with the sleeve of his shirt before placing his glass on the coffee table next to the bottle of scotch. "You must be clinically retarded to believe this is Nik's kid. He's a vampire, Elijah, we can't procreate."

" _Nature found a loophole when Niklaus decided to spend a night with a girl named Hayley,_ " explained Elijah, annoyed at how Kol found this situation funny.

"Hayley?" Gwen asked, the name sounding familiar.

Kol looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "You know her?"

"Is she a werewolf with brown hair and big eyes?" Gwen asked Elijah, ignoring Kol's question.

" _Yes,_ " answered Elijah.

"Oh, shit," Gwen sighed as she leaned back against the sofa, connecting the dots about the loophole that Elijah talked about. "Nik is half-werewolf, and had sex with a werewolf, which somehow makes them compatible and able to procreate like any other person."

" _Exactly that,_ " Elijah said. " _And I will see this child be kept safe. There is evidence enough that says that this_ is _Niklaus' child._ "

"Are you mad?" Kol asked, frowning at the phone. "You would let witches manipulate you with a child?"

"Kol," Gwen chastised Kol, horrified that he would ignore the life of a child, a child that was his family. "That is your nephew or niece we're talking about."

"Witches have the power to make us believe anything with the flick of a wrist," Kol began and opened his mouth to continue speaking, but was stopped by Elijah.

" _Kol!_ " Elijah's voice was low but one could hear the force and strength he carried with the word. " _There are no tricks, no deception, and no lie. This is Niklaus' child, our family and I only ask that you put past grievances behind you to save the life of this child that is your blood. This is our chance to be the family that we were and be happy._ "

Gwen eyed Kol warily, not sure about how he might respond to Elijah's plea for help. And even with Elijah practically begging for his help, Kol could not find it in himself to offer his help. Too many years of being an outcast in his own family have hardened him. In the past, he would have joined Elijah to feel he was welcomed, even if he was being used, but he found he did not need their acceptance and he knew very well where to tell Elijah to take his plea.

"Call Rebekah," Kol said as he picked up the phone to and stood on his feet. "Maybe she'll be more inclined to be used and thrown away once everything is said and done." With that, he cut off the call and threw the phone on the sofa next to Gwen before he stormed up the stairs.

Gwen sighed, her mind a whirlwind with Elijah's words repeating themselves in her mind, but she had one thing clear that she picked up on Elijah's plea for help. This child would be Klaus' redemption, maybe even bring back a sliver of happiness into his life that he lost along the years. This was a chance for Klaus to stop wanting others to fear him and want the love a child could offer. And Gwen was not dumb enough to let this chance pass her by, not that she would do this without Kol. She made a promise to herself to not turn her back on him, she loved him and would side with him for as long as she lives and there was reason. She picked up her phone and sent a message to Elijah, telling him she will help him and will try to convince Kol to change his mind, not sure if she was capable of doing so, but did not made any promise.

Leaving the phone on the coffee table, Gwen stood from the sofa and began to make her way upstairs to find Kol. She found him in their bedroom, staring out the window that showed them a view of their front yard, but his eyes appeared to be in another place in another time. Slowly, she approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind with her mouth buried in the back of his shoulder.

"We can't ignore this," Gwen mumbled into his shirt as she felt his body lose some of its tense joints when he released a heavy sigh.

"Yes, we can," Kol argued, sounding a lot like a child, but Gwen held her tongue from calling him out on it. "The last thing we need is to get involved in my family's business. The second that we do, there is a guarantee that I will lose you."

"You won't," Gwen argued as she managed to turn him away from the window to face her, his eyes showed how determined he was to fight her on this, but Gwen knew that he would cave soon enough. "We've gone through too much to simply turn away from one another. I love you, Kol." She cupped his cheeks as their eyes locked on one another. "Neither Nik nor Elijah nor a child will change that; I swear it on my life." Kol's eyes softened at her words as his jaw sets. "I just think that we can't ignore or run away the moment that your family calls. This is a baby we're talking about, and I just want you to at least think about it."

Kol sighed through his nose as Gwen stroked his cheeks with her thumb. For Kol, there were just too many risks with them going to New Orleans, but he would be lying to himself if the situation had not caught his attention. He was very interested to know how the witches were controlled or what caused the werewolves to run off, but what interested him most was the chance of proving to his family how wrong they were to cast him out. He was still on the fence about it, but he was considering it.

"I'll think about it, darling," Kol told her, earning a small smile from the witch, _his_ witch. His eyes then roamed to her body, which ahd him changing his mood immediately as he noticed she still wore the lingerie that she probably had not noticed yet. "First things first…" Before Gwen could question him, he had thrown her on the middle of the bed in supernatural speed before draping himself over her. "We haven't finished our game." He took her mouth with his, earning a moan from her as he settled between her legs. "My turn to lead."

Gwen giggled as Kol began to pepper her neck with kisses as his hands roamed over every inch of her body. His mouth began to explore her body, Gwen still clothed with the lingerie as Kol's attention began to turn to the most sensitive spot of Gwen's body, causing her to pant as she gripped the sheets at her side.

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

Hayley coughed as she took off the sheets that were draped over the old furniture that was in a mansion, causing the dust that accumulated to spread into her face. This mansion once belonged to the Original family, and they still owned it, which served to be their temporary quarters until a better option presented itself.

Hearing the coughing, Elijah appeared in the room, worried about Hayley's condition, which affected the child that was growing in her womb. "You all right?"

Hayley glanced at Elijah before continuing with her task. "Just dust." If she was being honest to herself, she did not find the Original unattractive. Shaking her head to throw away those thoughts, she glanced around the room. "This place is ancient."

"Yes, it should serve our purposes," Elijah remarked as his eyes also surveyed the room, remembering the last time he had ever been in there. He then began to make his way over to Hayley to help her. "It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you're the most important person in this family. You need a good home." They held their gazes for a moment, Hayley offering him a small smile. "So I'm curious. In all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel?"

"About having a miracle baby with a psychotic one-night stand?" Hayley asked, not sure to what Elijah was specifically asking about and she was in no mood to be asked about how she feels with having slept with Klaus.

"About being a mother," Elijah clarified.

"I…"Hayley began, but sighed as she gathered her thoughts, while Elijah uncovered the furniture she had been trying to uncover. "I was abandoned when I was born, and my adoptive parents kicked me out the second that I turned into a wolf. So I don't really know how I feel about being a mother because I never really had a good one."

"I will always protect you," Elijah said with finality as he threw away the sheet that revealed a crib. "You have my word on that. And where I fail, a friend of mine will ensure your safety." Hayley smiled at this, feeling calmer and safer at his words.

"And noble Elijah always keeps his word," Klaus said, leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Both Elijah and Hayley turned their attention to Klaus.

"Is it done?" Elijah asked Klaus.

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Klaus. "Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood, even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man Thierry yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter." He straightened as he approached the other two in the room. "My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."

"I believe them to be honorable," Elijah said as he came to the defense of the witches. "They did release Hayley to me, although they haven't entirely been forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead." Elijah now stood in front of Klaus. "There must be a reason why, so I called the only person in our family who has more knowledge of witches than any of us do combined."

"You didn't," Klaus almost snarled. The last thing he needed was his younger brother wreaking havoc and tarnishing his plans to spite him for daggering him. "Kol has no reason to help us, may I remind you his bloody sanctimony of him not feeling part of this family."

"I can't blame him," Elijah said, silencing Klaus, who also knew that Kol's words held truth in them, but he still found them ridiculous. "Besides, I talked with Miss Gwen and she has agreed to convince Kol to help us after he so rudely ended our conversation."

"How is she?" Klaus asked.

The last time he ever saw Gwen, Kol whisked her away the same day that the Other Side was closed off, and he was left in the dark about her whereabouts. He felt relieved to know that she was fine, even if she was with Kol. Gwen was important and the only person in this world who Klaus would never harm intentionally.

"She was fine," said Elijah. "She makes our brother family, of that I am certain. I also found out that she is now alive and an immortal witch."

Klaus' eyes widened, not believing Elijah. "How is that possible?"

"It seems they had the aid of an ancestor of Gwen's," Elijah said, knowing that his next words will please Klaus to no end. Having Gwen on their side meant they had power that even Marcel could not match. "This ancestor was the older sister of Silas himself."

And true to his assumption, a grin exploded on Klaus' lips. "Now this is extremely good news."

Feeling lost and confused, Hayley asked, "Who are we talking about?"

"In addition to the secret weapon he uses to control the witches, Marcel has assembled a small army of vampires," Elijah explained after he and Klaus moved to another room to leave Hayley to her own devices and to rest while they cleared sheets off of furniture. "Working together, we could destroy them from the inside."

"And what of Rebekah?" Klaus asked, not bothering to help Elijah in clearing away the sheets to let the furniture breathe. "I know that Gwen is capable enough to handle Kol, but has our sister stopped her pouting long enough to join the fun?"

Elijah sighed, feeling quite disappointed at how Rebekah turned away from her family. "She has made her disinterest quite clear."

"One too many times daggered and shoved in a box, I gather," Klaus joked, to which Elijah mockingly chuckled under his breath. "Or perhaps she doesn't share you unwavering belief that I can be saved. At least Kol would find something to get out of this."

"Rebekah may surprise us yet," said Elijah, believing that his sister had too much of a big heart to completely ignore her family in a time of need. "After all, we all swore the same vow that even Kol feels obliged to honor in one way or another." He removed yet another sheet from a desk, while Klaus pours himself a drink.

"I hope our sister, Kol and my dear Gwen stay far away," Klaus said and took a sip from his glass. "Because in my desire to reclaim this town, to steal from Marcel that which he holds most dear, I have realized one massive vulnerability"—Klaus spoke as Elijah kept his attention on organizing the desk, not noticing Klaus approaching him with a hidden motive—"one weakness that Marcel could exploit."

Elijah frowned as he turned to Klaus, who now stood next to him. "And what is that?"

Klaus looked to Elijah, holding the dagger hidden behind his back that he held in one hand as he placed his drink on the desk. "You." He plunged the dagger into Elijah's chest without warning, causing his older brother to scream in pain as the effects of the dagger begin to take over the elder's body. "Forgive me, my brother. There is no power in love." Elijah managed to grip onto Klaus' shoulder, glaring at Klaus. "Mercy makes you weak. Family makes you weak." Elijah's head fell on Klaus' shoulder as his body finally grayed and desiccated. "And if I'm going to win this war, I have to do it alone."

* * *

 **Yay! End of the first chapter! I am sooo excited for this story and I hope you guys will enjoy the ride! You can review your opinions, Fave your love and Follow your likes. Do not hold back on me and tell me your thoughts and expectations!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **I'll be seeing you soon!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey! Sorry for such the late delay, but college has been killer and keeping me from doing much. I can't wait for the break on November and December to be fully on completing my stories, or at least write the chapters to only have to post them. I am deeply sorry for the delays, but studies have been occupying my time, but I have not left my stories for dead.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Know that I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

A sharp intake of breath was the first sound heard in the morning in the peacefulness of the house that belonged to Kol and Gwen. Gwen's eyes fluttered open as light streamed through the windows and touched her face, lighting up the room as both Kol and Gwen rested on their king-sized beds with dark red sheets wrapped around their bodies. Gwen smiled when she was conscious of Kol's arm wrapped around her waist to keep her in place against his chest, his mouth and nose nuzzled in the back of her neck. She glanced back at Kol, sighing in happiness as she saw his peaceful face sleeping with no frown or glare upon his features; he was at peace.

After having went through too much, they finally had this moment for themselves with no worries about someone appearing out of the blue to drive a stake through Kol's chest, not that Kol did not worry about that from time to time, but he worried for Gwen. Still, their new home was so peaceful that both of them managed to relax without a care in the world, not that they could do that forever.

Carefully, she managed sit up and wiggled out of Kol's relaxed hold, knowing that on most occasions it was actually a great struggle, since he always slept with fear of waking up and not finding her in his arms. His arm was now on her lap, still holding onto her with a tight grip on her waist. And yet, her attention was on the palm of her hand that she raised to have the sunlight land on it to fill it with warmth. She turned it over a few time as she focused on simply savoring that warmth that spread over her hand before turning her head to face the light that streamed through the gap between the curtains. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she basked in the light of the sun.

Unbeknownst to her, Kol's eyes were open and staring at her intently. For some mornings, Gwen woke to cast her eyes on whatever area of her light skin that the sun had touched, letting it cast a glow about her frame. To Kol, on those times, she looked like an absolute _angel_. He was ashamed to admit to himself that his chest would feel like it was ready to explode in joy at how lucky he was to have such an angel in the confines of his embrace.

Slowly and stealthily, Kol managed to sit up on the bed, Gwen not noticing that he was right next to her while admiring her with almost unblinking eyes as she continued to keep her eyes closed. His lips pulled upward into a lopsided grin and reached up to place his hand on Gwen's cheek that was facing away from him to tilt her face to meet his. Her calm and loving eyes opened and urged him even further to never let this woman leave his undead life.

"Glad to be alive again, my love?" he asked as he leaned his forehead against hers, their eyes still locked.

Gwen smiled as she placed a hand on the wrist of the hand that he had on her cheek. "I am even happier that you're alive with me."

"Half." He smirked while she giggled before he placed his lips on hers to give her a sweet but passionate kiss and pulled away after a few moments. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you, darlin'," she replied as she continued to keep her eyes locked on Kol's. But their moment was interrupted by a noise coming from Gwen's stomach, to which they both laughed at. "I guess I'll get started on breakfast."

"Right, my turn's tomorrow," he said as he mentioned the rule they had about alternating on who would make breakfast one day and the other person made dinner, changing the roles the next day and so on. "I'll take a shower."

Gwen hummed as she got out of bed while wearing one of Kol's button-ups with only her panties and socks as her other articles of clothing. Her hair danced behind her back in waves as she moved towards the bedroom door. "I'll make your breakfast extra special, since you didn't ask me to join you."

Kol gasped mockingly. "I thought it was quite obvious that you'd be joining me."

"See you downstairs," Gwen giggled as she gave Kol one last glance before leaving the room.

She left the bedroom with her phone in hand, intent on having her music while she cooked, which was turning into a habit of hers that Kol never minded to join her in.

Gwen made her way downstairs and walked into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes, her stomach forcing her to search for food. She went to the refrigerator first to take out the ingredients to make French toast and scrambled eggs. Before starting breakfast, Gwen grabbed her phone and searched her music, happy that she had more access to music and could actually have use for her phone, since she did not received many calls or messages. She scrolled through her music and found a song that could do its job before pressing play to have the music drift over the kitchen.

 _I woke up this morning and the sun was gone_

 _Turned on some music to start my day_

 _I lost myself in a familiar song_

 _I closed my eyes and I slipped away_

Gwen started to make breakfast while dancing along to the song, smiling as she danced while cooking. Feeling the abnormal taste she was yet to get used to, she went over to the fridge.

 _It's more than a feeling_

 _More than a feeling_

 _When I hear that old song they used to play_

 _More than a feeling_

 _And I begin dreaming_

 _More than a feeling_

 _'Til I see Mary Ann walk away_

 _I see my Mary Ann walkin' away_

Looking around in the fridge, she found a blood bag and took it out. She then searched for a mug and started to pour some blood into the mug, while also being mindful of the breakfast that she left on the stove to finish getting ready.

 _So many people have come and gone_

 _Their faces fade as the years go by_

 _Yet I still recall as I wander on_

 _As clear as the sun in the summer sky_

Satisfied with the amount of blood she poured in the mug, she stored away what blood was still in the blood bag to drink later. She then placed the mug in the microwave to heat it up, cold blood unnerving her to no end. She still remembered the first time she dared to drink blood directly from the fridge, the memory causing a shiver to go down her back.

 _It's more than a feeling_

 _More than a feeling_

 _When I hear that old song they used to play_

 _More than a feeling_

 _And I begin dreaming_

 _More than a feeling_

 _'Til I see Mary Ann walk away_

 _I see my Mary Ann walkin' away_

Once the breakfast was done and to Gwen's liking, she continued to dance as she placed the food on two plates, both with scrambled eggs, bacon and French toast. She grabbed the plates and placed them in the small dining table that was in the patio at the back of the house. She then walked back into the house to retrieve her mug from the microwave.

 _When I'm tired and thinking cold_

 _I hide in my music, forget the day_

 _And dream of a girl I used to know_

 _I closed my eyes and she slipped away_

 _She slipped away_

 _It's more than a feeling_

 _More than a feeling_

 _When I hear that old song they used to play_

 _More than a feeling_

 _And I begin dreaming_

 _More than a feeling_

 _'Til I see Mary Ann walk away_

As the song came to an end, Kol appeared in the kitchen as Gwen pulled out her mug from the microwave, smirking at Kol's damp form. He was only dressed in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else as he approached her with his hair slightly wet from his shower. He grinned at her before leaning down to connect their lips. If it weren't for the mug in her hands, Gwen would have wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Breakfast's ready," she said, smiling up at him as she took a sip from her mug, sighing in relief as the thirst for blood was finally sated within her.

She would never get used to the fact and logic of her needing blood to sustain herself, but she could not help but enjoy the feel of the blood going down her throat. It almost tasted like black coffee and she was addicted to it.

"I hate how domestic we've become," Kol mockingly complained as he grabbed her mug and took a sip before giving it back to her and made his way to where he knew Gwen had placed their breakfast. "It's so quiet and bloody peaceful." He continued with a smirk on his lips. "Not that I mind our nightly activities."

"Yeah, but I doubt you take into consideration what our neighbors might think of us when they hear us all through the night," Gwen argued as she followed Kol outside to sit on the chairs at the dining table where their breakfast was. "You also love how much privacy we have now and you abuse this."

Kol chuckled and began to eat his breakfast. "It has its perks."

Gwen chuckled and they both ate in comfortable silence, satisfying their hunger at the moment. Neither of them spoke about New Orleans in depth after Elijah called and received no more calls from the eldest Original, which actually worried Gwen, since weeks have passed and he was not answering his phone whenever she had tried to call him back. Kol made it known that he was not favoring in returning to New Orleans because he found no reason to actually be there. None of his siblings expressed their need for them and he was not too interested in returning to the nest of insanity that was The Big Easy.

Gwen was actually growing to be annoyed with how Kol never wanted to talk about New Orleans, and she was not going to wait for Kol to decide when it would become the right time to talk.

"Are we going to talk about going to New Orleans?" Gwen asked when she finished eating, catching Kol roll his eyes after he pushed his empty plate away from him as a sign that he finished.

"I already told you my thoughts about that," Kol said and kept himself from meeting her eyes, knowing that he his resolve would soften the moment he did. "You don't want to go there. That place may have been the happiest Elijah, Nik and Bekah have been, but not for me."

"I'll be there with you," Gwen argued. She had the need to help Elijah and make sure he and Klaus were all right. "Besides, Elijah hasn't answered his phone."

"Call Niklaus and ask him," Kol suggested.

"Fine," Gwen huffed before standing up and walking back into the kitchen, not sparing Kol another glance as she began to dial Klaus' phone number that Kol gave her. She felt Kol in the room, who was actually leaning against one of the doorways that led into the kitchen.

The phone rang three times before the call was picked up. " _It's so nice to hear from you, Cat,_ " she heard Klaus say from the other end of the line, smiling at hearing Klaus' voice after months of not seeing him. " _I hope life has actually been good to you this second time around._ "

"Hello, Mouse," Gwen greeted and turned to find Kol watching her and listening in on the conversation. "How is New Orleans this time of year?"

" _I presume it is the same as Paris is,_ " Klaus said, and Gwen could hear the smirk that he wore by the tone of his voice. " _I hope my darling brother is treating you with nothing but care and love._ "

Gwen hummed as Kol rolled his eyes at Klaus' words. "We're fine, but don't think I've forgotten your lack of support on bringing him back, especially when they were going to close the Other Side. Your brotherly affections are outstanding," she said, the last part said in a sarcastic tone. "And I can't help but wonder why Elijah does not pick up his phone after he asked me and Kol to come to New Orleans."

" _Elijah has been busy,_ " said Klaus.

"Don't lie," Gwen said, her eyes narrowed, wishing she could teleport to where Klaus was to give him a good slap on the face for even daring to lie to her.

Klaus laughed. " _Well, he is,_ " Klaus assured her, but Gwen was not convinced with how Klaus spoke to her, as if she was not his main priority at the moment, which meant he was up to something. " _I also suggest you ignore Elijah and his plea for help, we've got things sorted over here. Besides, witches like yourself are killed for using their magic._ "

Kol narrowed his eyes at this, interested in what Klaus said. Witches in New Orleans relied on the power of their ancestors, so it was simply impossible for vampires to have them all on a leash. In the years he lived in New Orleans, Kol found the witched of New Orleans to be a force to be reckoned with.

"Nik—"

" _You are safer away from here, Cat,_ " Klaus interrupted her. " _Should I need any assistance, I will be sure to contact you first._ " And with that he hung up the call, causing Gwen huff in irritation, whereas Kol smirked.

"Jerk," Gwen said as she stared at her phone, wishing Klaus had heard her say it.

"I am sure dear Elijah has been daggered," Kol said, and Gwen snapped her head to him with furrowed brows.

"What?" she asked. "How are you so sure?"

"I've spent decades with Klaus, darling," Kol said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Does it really surprise you?"

"We have to go help Elijah," said Gwen.

"No, we're not," Kol said and pushed away from the doorway to approach her, but his narrowed eyes did little to intimidate Gwen into submission. "New Orleans has only ever proven to be a city of nothing more than suffering and pain. My siblings may have thrived in that bloody city, but I remained shadowed and overlooked."

"Fine!" Gwen said, smiling condescendingly and decided to cease the subject before they started arguing, considering they always escalated the more time they spent arguing, so she only went to leave the room. "It's your turn to do the dishes," she said as she passed him, careful not to touch him.

Kol sighed heavily as he stared at the ceiling, the need to break or kill something itching within his fingers, but he was surprised with how controlled he was. He was actually thinking about not losing his temper and readdresses the subject later when he and Gwen have blown off some steam.

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

Klaus sighed as he stared at his phone after having hung up on Gwen, the person he wished he had by his side at the moment, but he would never be too selfish when it came to her. She was a constant in his life that he would rather cross as little as possible. The relationships he had with his own siblings was one he did not want to be like with Gwen, and so he found himself keeping her away to keep her safe and sound. Besides, he was too busy plotting to be preoccupied with personal matters. It was bad enough he now had to deal with his own sister that he could barely control.

Putting away his phone in his pocket, Klaus entered the small bar where he was asked by Marcel to meet, finding his once adoptive son at the table that was by the window. Klaus was unpleasantly surprised with the type of place Marcel wanted to meet for a drink, finding it too small and not of his taste.

"By the look on your face, I'd say you have woman problems," Marcel remarked as Klaus took a seat opposite to Marcel, a small table between them with a bottle of alcohol already on the table that Marcel was drinking. Klaus chuckled as he imagined how Gwen would respond to that. "Who is she?"

"A friend of mine that I took under my wing little over eight years ago," Klaus explained, but decided to give away little information about Gwen to his potential enemy. "She is a feisty thing that was once a semi-ghost." Marcel gave him a confused look, which Klaus waved away. "It's a _very_ long story, but, to make it short, we became close friends." He clicked his tongue. "Well, she's my best friend, who has a horrible temper and has miraculously survived being with me for eight years."

Marcel chuckled. "She seems to be an incredible woman."

"You have no idea," said Klaus.

Marcel, thinking he may have found a weakness in Klaus, decided to dig a little deeper into the subject. "Why isn't she here in the best city of the world with you?"

"Well, she has recently come back to the land of the living and is spending some much needed time with her so called love of her life," Klaus explained with a roll of his eyes, a waitress that Marcel flagged coming over to give Klaus a shot for him to also drink from Marcel's bottle. "She's earned this." Wanting to change the subject, Klaus glanced around the room and then his eyes fell on the familiar face of the bartender that was studying psychology, who was actually doing some studying. "Well, this is a far cry from last night's party." He chuckled when he turned his eyes back to Marcel. "In pursuit of the bartender from Rousseau's, I see."

"She's a work in progress," Marcel said with a hum in his voice, sounding pensive about pursuing the blonde woman, but he was not dumb enough to show much interest in her in front of Klaus.

"And yet here you are, pining over her when you should be eating her for lunch," Klaus countered, already having caught on to a potential weakness of Marcel as he poured himself some of the drink that Marcel was drinking. While Marcel knew nothing of Gwen, Klaus was even more confident that he had an upper hand, and he trusted in Kol's protectiveness to keep Gwen safe from any threat. "Well, she must be special."

"Business first," Marcel began, his face turning serious and kept his posture firm to show he was in control. "The coroner called. He's got my number in case any dead tourists show up."

"Let me guess," Klaus began and took a sip of his drink. "Dead tourists with a stamp on their hands and vampire blood in their veins."

"It happens," Marcel excused, and he personally knew of the times that one of his guys was at fault for an incident similar to this one. "Someone takes a drunken tumble off the balcony or into the Mississippi, and today, I got two of them to deal with."

Then, his attention was drawn to the blonde that had his interest as she packed her things and began to make her way out of the quiet bar. Klaus noticed this and could not help but use this moment to his advantage.

"Excuse me, love," Klaus said to the woman before she left as he stood from his seat to face Camille at his full height. Once He had her attention, he struck conversation. "What's that you're studying?"

"Abnormal psychology," Cami answered as she held her books to her chest while keeping her gaze locked with Klaus'.

With the way she carried herself and the last time he talked with her, Klaus could not help but think about Gwen. Apart from hair color and posture, her and Gwen were a tad similar in personality, with the exception that Gwen was more forward and aggressive than the woman in front of him.

"Abnormal psychology," Klaus echoed. "Well, perhaps you could help me diagnose my friend over here." He grasped her hand in a gentle hold and directed her over to where Marcel was sitting, looking the slightest nervous as Klaus took his previous seat. "He's been a little bit depressed." Marcel smirked as he avoided her eyes. "Can't keep his mind off a girl. He tells me she's a queen, fit for a king." Marcel looked up at Cami. "I think he should cut his losses and move on. What's your professional opinion?"

Cami looked from Klaus, who had her full attention before she turned to look at Marcel. "Be a nice guy, and maybe the opportunity will present itself someday."

Before she could exit the building, Marcel shot straight to his feet and said. "How about tonight…nine o'clock?" He smiled at her as she turned to him while standing in front of the exit. "I'll meet you right here."

"I'll take it under consideration," Cami replied with a smile of her own before leaving the joint, smiling to herself as she walked away.

Marcel hummed as he watched her leave, eager for tonight to come faster and be pleasantly surprised to find her here. "Harsh."

"I daresay I've lost my touch," Klaus said as he picked up his glass, smirking at Marcel. "Or you've lost yours." At this they both smirked at one another before taking a gulp of their alcoholic drink.

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

Never before had Kol found himself in such a predicament, but he found that this was inevitable. He knew that the moment he told Gwen they weren't going to New Orleans, her reaction would define what he would be doing after. No, he did not want to go to New Orleans to be used by his family and then be thrown away the moment he ceased to be of use, but Gwen was right when she said that they were family. As much as he called Elijah a hypocrite about it and that he could care less what was going on over there, he did not want to be the one that turned his back on family. His family was now also Gwen and he wasn't going to let her think that this was how he treated family.

There was also a look that he noticed in her eyes. As he stood next to a window, watching Gwen play with her guitar on the back of the house, he knew her thoughts before she could even recognize them. Maybe this was something every woman had, but he knew he lost her the moment that a child was mentioned in this situation. They had never talked about it, but he knew that with Gwen being alive, she'd want more things in life that he knew that he would never be able to give her, not that he would fail to try.

And so, he had no choice in the matter to be on her good side, instead of waiting for her to calm down as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Besides, he found that he missed the drama and bloodshed that only New Orleans could provide. He unlocked his phone with the intention of dialing Klaus's phone before placing the phone to his ear.

He heard it ring five times before the call was picked up with a, " _Hello, baby brother._ "

"Hello, Nik," Kol greeted as he began to walk over to the kitchen. "I think welcoming family back from the dead is something we don't do anymore, do we?"

" _How was I supposed to know you were back when you failed to call?_ " Klaus asked as Kol went about the kitchen to serve himself a strong drink, which he needed at the moment to deal with Klaus and his attitude. " _I am not a psychic._ "

"I am not surprised, actually," Kol said as he took a sip from his bourbon. "I am used to be the outcast in our family, but do I relish in it when I am needed, perfect so I can tell you, Elijah and Rebekah to sod off." He cleared his throat as he leaned back against the kitchen island. "And by Elijah's lack of calls, I can only assume he had an argument with a silver dagger, which he lost."

Kol could hear Klaus' deep inhaling, which meant he was very close to the truth. " _I am handling everything over her, so I found no need for interference from any of you, not that Rebekah is helping any._ "

"It won't be long before she has a dagger in her chest, not that she doesn't deserve it, if to cease the nagging," Kol sighed while hearing Klaus chuckle, not really caring of what happens to Rebekah, since his mind drifted back to a time when his sister betrayed him. "Still, Gwen is quite crossed with me, so I can only undo this by taking her to New Orleans."

" _Don't you dare come to New Orleans,_ " Klaus warned, and Kol could only smirk at having found a button to push. " _The only thing you would bring is more complication to the equation._ "

"I dare, especially when I find that Gwen and Elijah are right," Kol said, sipping from his drink as he told Klaus something he found was true. "Family is important, so a holiday visit should be enough to settle things between us all. Be expecting us sometime this week or the next. I am not sure when I'll be in the mood to book a flight."

" _Kol, I warn you that Marcel is in full control, and the magic of witches are not welcome here,_ " Klaus tried to argue, so Kol would not risk Gwen. " _The moment Gwen does magic, she would be sentenced to death._ "

"I'd like to see that little whelp try," Kol almost growled at the thought of Gwen being harmed. "Besides, you underestimate her, Nik." Kol walked over to the window to find Gwen still playing her guitar with her hair loose and wild in the light breeze. "You have no idea the mere power that emanates from just looking at her."

" _How is her magic training?_ " asked Klaus, interested in what Gwen was capable of doing.

Kol chuckled, taking one last gulp from his drink. "We haven't started, but, Nik…" he trailed off as he tried to look for a word to describe the power that was visible by only looking at Gwen. "You have no idea what she's capable. She has the magic of a two thousand witch that answered to no one, not to nature nor spirits."

" _Even so, I cannot have either of you here,_ " Klaus said with finality that caused Kol to chuckle. " _I am not joking, Kol._ "

"I know, but I cannot help but imagine how New Orleans is this time of year. I miss the parties, the bloodshed, the family memories, and the mysteries that were never solved," Kol said, ignoring the threat that Klaus carried with his voice. "Besides, I'd love to see Elijah giving you a thrashing, which I will thoroughly enjoy watching."

" _Kol—_ "

"See you soon, brother," Kols said and hung up the call to stop Klaus from saying anything else, putting his phone away and leaving his glass behind on a table before stepping out of the house to join Gwen.

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

Klaus glared at his phone, wishing Kol was right in front of him to put a dagger in his chest and be rid of any complications, but he could not help but think about how this would benefit him in future plotting. Yes, Kol was upset with him and Gwen would most surely protect him from a dagger, but his key to having Kol be loyal to him was Gwen, who happened to be the only person on this earth that actually referred to him as her best friend, which they were. He can't say that this would be too inconvenient for him. Kol normally sided with him when it came to choosing between Klaus or Elijah.

What was even better for Klaus was that Kol was not just upset with him, but with Rebekah and Elijah as well. Klaus did not forget that Gwen would probably be upset with them as well, and he was the only one who knew how to earn her forgiveness. All in all, Klaus had two trump cards that he could use. He had Kol, who would be ready to cause any mischief for Marcel, who knew that was the wild Original that no one controlled. He also had Gwen, a new witch that Kol was sure that had incredible power that could be able to match Marcel's so called weapon.

So really, Klaus had an advantage over Marcel at the moment.

"Ready?" Marcel's voice asked from behind Klaus while grinning.

Klaus turned around to face Marcel with a smirk of his own as he stored away his phone in the pocket of his jacket. "Yes, show me how this process of choosing new recruits works."

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Remember to review your hate for me taking so long. ;) Honestly, review your every thought/opinion, Fave or Follow.**

 **Love you guys!**

 **Look forward for the next chapter.**

 **See ya later!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Yay! Updated another chapter and did not take so long to do it! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also apologize for taking so long in other chapters, but I am managing to juggle things evenly to not take so long to update.**

 **Remember that I own nothing that belongs to The Originals, except for the obvious. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

Outside of the house, there laid a blanket at the back of the house on the green grass with a soft breeze rustling the leaves of the trees from the nearby forest. The day was clear and bright with only a speck of it being a tad troubling, which was Gwen's mood as she sat on the blanket with her guitar on her lap and a bowl of fruits next to her. Her fingers brushed on the guitar's strings, eliciting a melodic tune that reached her ears. And even with her attention on making music flow from her guitar, her mind was on Elijah and Klaus.

Gwen knew better than to trust Klaus' words about Elijah being fine and that there was no need for her and Kol to visit, especially since Elijah was practically begging them to come to New Orleans. And Gwen was not comforted by Kol's words about Klaus having daggered Elijah, since they had not heard word from him in quite a while. Gwen knew Elijah well enough that he was a gentleman and would have called her himself to say they were no longer needed. It was all just too unnerving for Gwen, and she really wanted to go to New Orleans and meet the lucky lady that managed to chain Klaus down by getting pregnant with his child.

 _A baby._

The words barely managed to really sink in as Gwen tried to imagine Klaus really having fathered a child, not that he had any intention for it. She could not help but let her mind wander to thoughts of having her own child. Unconsciously, she stopped playing the guitar and placed one hand over her abdomen that held no womb and probably never would. Yes, she was immortal and alive with a chance of actually getting pregnant, but Gwen could not imagine herself with any other man that was not Kol. The thought of having that sort of future with Kol had not appeared while she was a ghost, considering she had no point to dream of such things when she was dead. Now, it was a different story.

Gwen knew that these thoughts will plague her mind for some time, and she knew she should go to Kol about them, but she could not help but be afraid. She was afraid of how he would react. She was afraid he would never want that future with her. She was afraid that whatever his answer was would crush her. Yes, she loved him immensely, but that love she had for him and him for her was able to crush them.

Shaking her head to get rid of her troubling thoughts, Gwen removed her hand from her abdomen and adjusted her guitar on her lap to continue to play a melody. As she played she began to hum along with the sound the chords produced when her fingers brushed over them.

Unbeknownst to her, Kol was only a few feet away from her. His talk with Klaus had gone relatively well for him. He may had been hesitant and against the idea of going to New Orleans, but there were many strings he had to finish tying in that city, and he could not delay them any longer, if he wanted to truly leave his past grievances behind and move forward with Gwen. She was everything to him. He may not show it as much as he should, but he would give her the world, if he could only bring a smile to her face. And these words were impossible for him to voice, given that his mind and mouth barely have synchronization.

Once he was at the edge of the blanket, Kol kneeled and sat himself next to Gwen, who had stopped playing her guitar to turn her face to give her attention to Kol. She offered a soft look with a small smile in greeting, remembering they had not left one another in the best of moods last time they spoke. Kol, wearing jeans and a dark shirt with shoes, propped an elbow on a bent knee as he stared at Gwen. Already knowing what he should say, Kol inched closer to Gwen.

"I had a little heart to hear with my darling brother, Niklaus," Kol began, causing Gwen's brows to furrow curiously as to what Kol and Klaus spoke about. "I think it would be good for us to visit New Orleans." He sighed, while Gwen smiled at him. "It seems that Klaus has managed to find himself in over his head with the enemies he intends to make."

"We don't have to go, Kol," Gwen said as she placed the guitar next to the bowl of fruits at her side before turning her body to face Kol's, nestling herself between his legs. She looked up at Kol and placed a hand on his left cheek. "I've spent years with Nik. I know you get jealous and angry, but he is only a brother to me." Kol sighed, knowing that she was right and that the heavy feeling in his stomach was the green jealousy he held for the bond his brother had with _his_ Gwen. "I only want to be there for him as he was for me." She smiled at Kol and pecked his lips, pressing her forehead against his as their eyes remained locked on one another. "I love you, Kol, and that will _never_ change, even though you tried to kill me." Kol huffed while rolling his eyes as they both smirked. "Besides, I have a feeling you will have many stories for me from your time in New Orleans."

Kol chuckled. "Yes, many adventures, shenanigans"—he grinned at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes—"trysts." Gwen slapped his shoulder playfully, pulling away from his forehead in the process as they chuckled. His smile faltered as he stared at her in all seriousness, but with a small lopsided smile still on his lips. "But I will have you learn and be more tuned with your magic before we get to New Orleans." At her questioning look, Kol elaborated as he took her hands in his on the space between their bodies, stroking her knuckles. "New Orleans, it seems, is not a safe place for witches at the moment, so we will begin with you not just using your own power but also channeling from a powerful source."

Gwen frowned questioningly. "From where?"

"Here," Kol said as he touched her necklace with his index finger. "You carry Lilwen in that pendant, and, should you ever need it, you can use her as a resource when weakened or in need of more power."

"If witches are not welcomed," Gwen began, "I doubt I'd be able to sleep well."

"No, magic is prohibited, but witches remain in New Orleans," Kol corrected her as she adjusted her body. Gwen turned her back to Kol and leaned against his chest as his arms wrapped around her middle and placed his head on top of her head. She placed her own arms on top of his as his legs bent at his knees to keep her nestled against him. "The witches in New Orleans rely on Ancestral magic, the magic of the ancestors that are buried in the soil of New Orleans."

"So it's like a big hotspot," Gwen realized.

Kol grinned. "Exactly." He cleared his throat as he reached for a grape from the bowl of fruit. "If they leave the earth that their ancestors are buried in, they will have no magic to practice."

"They also need to keep burying their own family members in New Orleans, if they want that magic to remain strong, right?" Gwen asked as one of Kol's hands began to play with strands of her hair, while the other interlocked its fingers with Gwen's.

"Yes," Kol answered, glad he did not have to explain everything to Gwen, and simply loving her more for her own intellect. "I will also have to teach you how to conceal yourself from whatever it is that can locate witches whenever they use magic."

"What if it is not an 'it'?" Gwen questioned as she craned her neck to look up at Kol. "What if it is a 'who'?"

Kol frowned, realizing that Gwen was right. The only thing that can give Marcel such power would either be a witch using an object or only a witch that seems to be sensitive to the presence of magic. In his years in New Orleans, he never came across an item like that, so it cannot be a cursed object or a locator of some kind. It would have to be a witch, and one with great power to be able to perceive the magic of other witches and locate them. And Kol was sure that it was a witch with great power in her grasp, but he knew that, with Lilwen at her disposal, Gwen possessed greater power.

"You might be right, my darling," Kol said, kissing Gwen's temple. "We have a lot of work to do with your training before we make plans to leave for New Orleans."

Gwen nodded with determination. "What do I need to do?"

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

"Does anyone have any more questions?" Klaus raged as he dropped the unconscious brother in the lobby of the house that had once belonged to the mayor of New Orleans. He looked between Rebekah and Hayley, to whom he explained his agenda about how he planned to overthrow Marcel and have the power given back to him to be able to guarantee the safety of his child. "No? Good." His eyes shifted to Hayley. "Because I have a question, Hayley." His glare was strong and unyielding as Hayley tried to not make eye contact with him, which was enough for Klaus to doubt her intentions were pure and innocent. "What were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place?"

Klaus could not help but feel he was surrounded by fools, which were his own family, as he tried to do what was best for all of them. In these times, he wished he had Gwen with him to calm him and advise him as to what to do. He would never admit it, but Gwen's words served their purpose and often guided his actions, even if he twisted them when he executed his plans, but she was a better ally to have, considering she did not doubt him as much and always gave him an opportunity to explain himself without doing something rash.

Hayley's silence and continuous glare was unnerving him, his temper beginning to flare as he waited for the answer that he knew that would not be pleasing. "Answer me!"

"Leave her be," Rebekah said as she kept her gaze from meeting Klaus', fearing his temper and the feeling of a dagger in her chest in the near future as a result of it.

"You want to know what I was doing?" Hayley began as a burst of courage shoot through her while approaching Klaus and holding her head high. "I was buying poison so I could put your little baby out of its misery."

The feeling that shot through Klaus at that moment was one he could not identify, maybe he merely refused to recognize it, but the feeling that accompanied it was not unknown to him as he glared at Hayley. He was angry and the hurt he felt at her words was one he wanted Hayley to feel, so he blurred over to her and grasped her neck in a tight hold as he pushed her up against the front door of the house, causing her to wheeze and try to take in air into her lungs.

"Nik!" Rebekah admonished as she stared at Klaus, waiting for him to realize what he was doing before she had to take matters into her own hands. "Nik!" She tried once more, but Klaus was not stopping as Hayley gagged. She grabbed Klaus' shoulders and pushed him into the side of the stairs in unnatural speed. "Keep your hands off her. She is pregnant, for God's sake!" Rebekah heard Hayley suck in breath after breath to fill her lungs, but kept glaring at her older brother. "All of this bluster about not wanting the child, and then the second she tells you she's ready to get rid of it…" she trailed off as she watched Klaus glance at Hayley. "It's okay to care."

And yet, Klaus found he could not show such a thing, for it meant he had a weakness that could be used against him. He refused to be weak and let others take advantage of that. As he stared at his sister, he could not help but realize that he _did_ care for the child that he did not want but was thrusted upon him without warning, not having ever thought of having children in so long, for it was impossible, until now.

"It's okay to want something," Rebekah said in a much calmer voice than before. "That's all Elijah was trying to do, all he's ever wanted for you, al _we've_ ever wanted, including the idiot that is Kol, who will most surely show his face soon enough. And I am sure that Gwen will tell you the same thing."

Klaus sighed as he sat down against the stairs while staring at the floor, Rebekah joining him seconds after as Hayley stared at them with sympathy and some understanding. "I gave Elijah to Marcel," Klaus confessed.

"What?" Rebekah asked in disbelief as she stared at Klaus wide-eyed.

"Marcel was nervous," Klaus explained, justifying his actions. "It was bad enough one Original returned to town, but two with another one on the way? His crew was getting antsy and Kol's arrival will only cause Marcel to grow suspicious, especially with the relationship they once had. And Marcel wanted Elijah gone, so I gave him a piece offering while still having a trump card of my own."

Rebekah stared at Klaus straight into his eyes. "You bartered our brother."

"I have a plan," Klaus pressed. "Gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire, honor Elijah's wish that that baby be born." Klaus averted his gaze from Rebekah's. "I am executing that plan the only way I know how. If you don't like it," he said as he glanced at Rebekah's blank face, "there's the door." He motioned to the front door with a nod before leaning closer to her. "See if I care."

And with that he left Rebekah and Hayley on their own to deal with the still unconscious vampire on the floor. At that moment, he honestly wished he had Kol to deal with. He found he could better manage Kol and his devices, considering they were—to him—rather predictable.

* * *

Later in the night, Rebekah sat on a chair in the porch at the back of the house while staring into the darkness of the night with nothing but the light of the moon to grant her view of what was in front of her. Her mind was a mess of feelings she'd rather not feel, but she did have the goal of liberating her oldest brother, but with Klaus and his daggers that was near impossible, if she were to anger him further.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps, finding the figure of Hayley approaching her form the corner of her eye. As Hayley sat on the chair next to Rebekah's, the Original could not help but also be angry at Hayley for trying to get rid of her _niece_ she so desperately wanted to have, but found she also understood the werewolf's intentions, even if she didn't agree with them. Aborting a child was something Rebekah could not agree with, and it may be due to the fact that it was something instilled deeply into her soul or from beliefs she still held from her human years.

"I know you don't know me very well, but thanks," Hayley said as she glanced at Rebekah while rocking the chair softly. "I appreciate what you did in there."

"Us girls have got to look out for each other," Rebekah sighed, offering Hayley a small smile. "At least until Gwen gets here to knock some sense into Klaus' thick skull." Rebekah sighed as she huffed out a small chuckle. "I believe she is the only one who is strong or stupid enough to stand up to Nik."

"She's the ghost, right?" Hayley asked as she remembered the ghost of the young woman she met when Klaus was protecting her in Mystic Falls. She did not know Gwen that well from that one meeting, but she picked up on Gwen's powerful strength. She still remembered the threat that Gwen posed to her and intended not to cross. "She was a charm to meet."

"She's protective, especially over those whom she loves," Rebekah explained after having picked up on Hayley's sarcastic tone of voice, needing to scold her for thinking of Gwen anything more than rude or cruel, not that she was not.

Rebekah smiled at the thought of Gwen and hoped she could make amends after their last encounter in Mystic Falls. Yes, she was a terrible sister and an even worse friend, but she wished Gwen would forgive her and move on. The youngest Original missed having another female that she could trust. Hayley would not be an acceptable replacement, but it was what she had at the moment. Once Gwen arrived, she would mend what was broken.

"What is it with you and Klaus?" Hayley asked, deciding to steer the conversation into another direction after noticing Gwen was kind of taboo at the moment for Rebekah. "You say you hate him, but the way you deal with him, it's so clear." Rebekah remained silent while staring forward, hearing the noises from the animals of the bayou. "Even when you hate him, you still love him."

Rebekah sighed. "I guess when you spend a thousand years with someone, deciding to quit them is like losing a part of yourself, but sometimes, the hate is just so powerful." In reference to what she was speaking, Rebekah was brought back to an event of her life that changed things for her. "Emil wasn't the only boyfriend of mine that Klaus killed. He did it again and again every time I found someone to care about. He just kept doing it until finally I stopped falling in love." She shared a glance with Hayley, not able to help herself from imagining it was Gwen she was speaking to with a kind and understanding smile on Gwen's face, but she was met with Hayley's disturbed look. "He said he was protecting me from my mistakes, that no one was ever good enough for his little sister. He would have done the same with Gwen, but she was smart or lucky enough to fall in love with my brother, Kol." Rebekah sighed once more as she remembered her past. "This went on until I found someone who did deserve me." And so Rebekah explained this to Hayley, who only grew more confused as she frowned at Rebekah.

"If you know Marcel has Elijah, why don't you just get him back yourself?" Hayley asked, but she felt she already knew the answer that Rebekah was going to tell her.

"Because if I cross my brother, then there's still a coffin downstairs with my name on it," Rebekah responded, cringing at the thought of her coffin being kept downstairs. "Gwen is also good at keeping him from doing that, considering she would throttle him and throw him out of a window."

Hayley debated with herself as she weighed her options. And yet she found that this was her safest option. So she wasted no time in reaching into her boots and pulling out three daggers that she wrapped in a cloth and presenting them to a shocked Rebekah.

"Oh, my god," Rebekah said, taking a sharp intake of air at the sight of the dreaded daggers that she feared so much.

"I found them under your coffin," Hayley said as Rebekah glanced at her face. "So if a couple of antique steak knives were the only thing stopping you from getting Elijah back, then here you go."

Hayley extended the daggers and Rebekah took them, both of them grinning to one another.

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

"Kol, we've been at this since yesterday and I've done it over a hundred times," Gwen whined as she threw herself backwards against the back of the couch in the living room. She was tired and cranky after having been practicing her magic since yesterday after their decision to go forward with their plan to go to New Orleans. "I know you must be taking joy out of this in some way." Kol chuckled from above her as he held Lilwen's spell book in his hands while staring at Gwen's panting form. "I didn't know magic could be so tiring."

Gwen had been doing whatever spells Kol asked of her since yesterday after they spent some time together on the blanket, but Kol was strict. He was a tad flirty and patient, never yelling or losing his patience with her, but he was persistent and strong when teaching her how magic worked. She was eager and ready to learn, so it made things easy for Kol and she hardly failed when casting a spell, which prompted Kol to bombard her with tasks to see her endurance, since she had no trouble conjuring up the spell.

"It is, if I run you ragged for almost ten hours of constant spell casting," Kol said, his goal meaning to see how Gwen would be after having to perform spell after spell, and was amazed to see that she was able to continue while only being out of breath. "And you're doing extremely well, my darling."

Gwen only glared up at him as he stood at the back of the sofa after having watched Gwen light up all the candles he had spread throughout the room before snuffing them all out with a flick of the wrist. "I hate you."

"I love you, darling," Kol said absentmindedly while grinning as he leafed through the pages of Lilwen's spells book—grimoire to be precise. "Now, I will put you out of your misery and perform the cloaking spell." Gwen perked up at this and watched him walk around the sofa to stand in front of her as she spread any wrinkles her blue summer dress with thin straps might have with her hair loose around her shoulders. "I think you've gotten the ropes of the basics of witchcraft, but remember that it is more like a piece of art you're creating; be creative and mix colors."

"Right," Gwen nodded as she crossed her legs on the couch, slightly panting from exhaustion after having performed so many spells with little rest. He handed her the grimoire and pointed to a certain spell that was scribbled on the page among others. "That one?"

"Yes, a cloaking spell that you will cast on your necklace," Kol said as he pointed at her necklace, to which Gwen nodded. "By casting the cloaking spell on an object that has so much power, it will cloak you completely as long as you wear it without running out of juice and unable to be interfered with."

"Like my very own daylight amulet?" Gwen asked, glancing up at Kol before reading the spell she had to perform, finding it quite simple to do and just eager to go to bed and take a nap.

Kol chuckled as he sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of Gwen, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Exactly."

"Okay," Gwen said as she took a deep breath and gave the grimoire back to Kol.

Kol watched as Gwen took her necklace off and enclosed it between her palms that she brought it close to her mouth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she _felt_ the power oozing from the pendant and unto her. Feeling the power course through the pendant and into her own body made her feel lightheaded with the amount of power the pendant had. Still, she managed to bend it to her will like Kol had taught her to do.

With a deep breath, she uttered, "Invisique." It was barely audible, but the spell was casted and Gwen felt it as she opened her eyes to stare at the pendant. "It's done."

"Great," Kol said with a smile as Gwen placed the necklace back around her neck, but he noticed how exhausted she really was. "I'll go make us lunch," he began as he turned to gather the grimoire and the few candles that were on the coffee table before turning back to Gwen, finding her already passed out on the couch. "I really ran you to your limit, didn't I?" He smiled as he stood up to start making lunch, but not before placing a soft kiss on Gwen's forehead. "Sleep well, my Darling Gwen."

Everything was white with no sound or anything reaching Gwen's ears at first, so she was blinded and couldn't rely on her other senses. She could only remember having done the cloaking spell, but did not feel she was in her own body. Still, the feeling of complete peace that engulfed her was too blissful for her to worry about anything at the moment, especially with how exhausted she felt.

The white light finally began to fade from her line of sight. Slowly, she sat up on the couch, turning her head to try to find some familiarity in the room, which she recognized as the cozy living room with its windows of the house Kol got to them. Gwen approached the window, smiling at the beautiful view with the sky bright and sunny before recognizing the garden around the house, but she knew it had to be past noon, not the morning she spent training with Kol.

Gwen frowned as she looked down at herself, dusting down her summer dress. She felt so free and peaceful as she continued to look around in search for Kol as a feeling of déjà vu spread through her. She felt like she was seeing this through the eyes of someone else, as if she had seen this in a dream.

She froze when she heard the sound of pans clanking against one another, which made her curious enough to make my way towards the kitchen. With careful steps, she grasped the doorway that led into the kitchen, poking her head in a bit to find a muscular body giving her his back. At the sight, her mouth was hanging open at the familiar figure as she stepped into the kitchen, but remained at the doorway. Suddenly, she felt like she was thrown back to the time she spent feeling so alone after Kol's death and could not help the lump growing in her throat at the memory of Kol's death.

"Kol?" she found herself asking, causing the figure to turn around to face her with an impish grin on his lips and a pan in one hand.

"Gazing, are we?" Kol asked her as Gwen stared at him, a hand over her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes, which had him frowning at her in concern. He placed the pan on the countertop of the island in the kitchen, not havinf turned the stove on, before going to her with a concerned look on his face. "What's wrong, darling?" He quickly cupped her face with both of his hands as tears spilled over her cheeks. "Did Nik call?" he asked, looking quite desperate. "Does something hurt? Are you all right?"

Gwen smiled and placed her hands over his, looking up at him with a smile, while he remained with a look of concern on his face. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head as she stared at Kol. _My Kol_ , she thought to herself. "I just miss you…so much."

A grin began to slowly grow on his lips before he touched her forehead with his. She took in a deep breath, enjoying the solid feeling of his forehead against hers. Remembering from when she dreamt this, Gwen nuzzled her face into her neck. Her heart clenched at the memory of not having had Kol when she woke up from her dream as she smiled against Kol's skin.

"I'm right here, my darling," he said, feeling quite confused at what had Gwen so upset. "I just thought of making lunch, since you were napping and being lazy." She slapped his chest playfully, overcome with joy as they both laughed together. "Well, not that I am good at making lunch or dinner, I'll leave that to you and I'll stick with breakfast from now on."

"You know I love you, right?" Gwen asked him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, desperately seeking closeness as she stood on the tip of her bare toes to nearly touch his forehead with hers with no help from him leaning down.

He frowned with a smile on his lips. "And I you," he said, stroking her cheeks. "There's nothing to worry about, darling." His lips brushed against hers. "I am here and I won't be going anywhere anytime soon, not without you."

Gwen merely stared at him as he continued to talk, his coal orbs focused on her with his hair tousled like when he was awakened after his hundred year sleep. She trailed the tips of her fingers over his shaved jaw, drinking him in as she continued to smile with her teeth showing and everything. So, in the middle of him talking, Gwen pulled him down to meet his lips with hers, catching him off guard, but he composed himself quickly and responded eagerly. His hands traveled down to her hips, pulling her against him with a growl escaping his lips. Gwen dug her fingers into his hair, enjoying the warmth that was between them, as if he was the last drop of water on the planet. He responded to her desperation with aggressiveness, pushing her against a wall in lightning speed, to which she moaned in response.

Gwen's thoughts were muddled as Kol began to kiss, nip and suck on her jaw, neck and nape. She tried to pull him against her body as much as she could with want to feel his warmth against hers to absorb him and only him. She massaged his scalp as tears began to run down her cheeks unexpectedly. Gwen did have the strength to hold them back as Kol met her gaze. He brought a hand up to her cheek, wiping away the tears as she grasped the front of his shirt in a tight fist of hers.

"I'm here, my Darling Lass," he said, brushing his lips over her forehead. He kept a hand on her cheek, while the other took one of hers to grasp it tightly in his over where his heart was beating. "I will always be here."

"You promise?" I asked, unable to hold back from asking something that he was not sure he could promise with certainty.

He chuckled softly, his lips against her forehead as his hands traveled to her waist to massage her joints there to relax her. "I promise." His forehead touched hers as they gazed into each other's eyes. "I am forever yours."

"Good," Gwen smiled before reaching up to crush her lips against his, receiving an eager response from him without wasting time.

In a mere second, Kol had placed Gwen on top of the island in the kitchen, their lips still attached to one another as his hands began to push up the skirt of her dress, his hands massaging her thighs as she gasped into his mouth. Gwen had one hand gripping one side of his neck, while the other kept her in place around Kol's shoulders. Her legs spread to have him stand between them as he pulled her against him. He detached his lips from hers to begin his trek down to her neck, finding that small spot that he knew drove Gwen almost over the edge. While one hand remained gripping her thigh, the other reached up to anchor her neck and keep it in place as he sucked on the other side of the neck.

While Gwen arched her head back to allow him better access to the skin of her neck as her legs gripped his waist, Kol growled as he felt the familiar feeling of thirst for blood pushing him to bite into Gwen's skin. He tried to push away that feeling, but the appearance of his fangs and veins with darkened eyes had him pulling back enough to face Gwen with his vampiric features present on his face.

Gwen only smiled at this before nodding her consent, knowing he must have been lusting for warm blood ever since they were resurrected. She tilted her head to the side and not a second later she yelped when she felt his fangs puncture her neck without warning. Gwen felt uncomfortable in the tight hold Kol had her as he continued to drink her blood, which was causing him to yearn and drink much more, losing himself in the blood of Gwen that actually had more intensity than the last time he drank from her.

"Kol," Gwen yelped as his fangs punctured further, but she felt no fear as she started to push against Kol with no response from him.

Knowing he was hungry and too attached to her blood, Gwen concentrated on his mind and felt the heavy feeling of magic present on her fingertips, causing Kol to detach from her with a growl filled with pain as he held his head in his hands. When closing her eyes, she stopped the pain she had inflicted upon his head. Kol's human eyes meeting hers as he realized what he had done while panting.

"I'm sorry," Kol whispered as he shook his head to rid himself from the thoughts that urged him to plunge his fangs into Gwen's neck once more. Gwen only slipped down from the island and approached him as he leant back against the wall. "Back to square one on that one."

"It's okay," Gwen said as she approached Kol, but he shook his head and avoided meeting her eyes. She grasped his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. "I'm fine. Besides, you can't kill me like that."

"I hurt you," he argued as he moved his chin from her grasp and placed a hand on her bleeding neck.

Gwen sighed as she shyly smiled up at him. "I'm fine."

Before Kol could protest, the ringing of his phone interrupted them. He sighed before reaching into his pocket and rolling his eyes when he saw the caller ID. "What do you want, Niklaus?" Kol asked, growing annoyed with the interruption.

" _I need you in New Orleans as soon as possible,_ " Klaus responded without missing a heartbeat as Kol met Gwen's gaze.

* * *

 **OMG! Gwen and Kol are finally joining the rest of the Mikaelsons in New Orleans. Things are about to get interesting for the couple once they get there. I have so many ideas for them in this first season of The Originals.**

 **Remember to review guys, your voice is what inspires me and do not be afraid to make a comment or opinion, they also help very much. Also, remember to Fave and Follow. For those who have reviewed, Faved and Followed, you guys are awesome!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Here is yet another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy and I can't wait for winter break to be able to stock up on chapters and be able to simply post them, but I am stuck with soooo much work this semester. I am only happy that you guys have been so patient with me. Thank you for the reviews, faves and Follows, they men the world to me!**

 **Remember, I own nothing of The Originals. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Gwen and Kol, after much trial and arguments had finally arrived to the city of New Orleans. It had only been two days since Klaus' phone call and Kol managed to plan this all with little help from Gwen. They seemed to be fine, but there was the fact that Kol was distant and Gwen had an idea of the reason why he was acting as sucht. Ever since he had drank from her, he had taken it upon himself to not be too close to her, so as to not risk an incident where he would drain her completely, but Gwen was determined to make him see otherwise, she just needed time. And she could not find a better place to do so than in New Orleans, except that there was the downside of Klaus and his siblings being there.

"This is New Orleans?" Gwen asked as she stared out of the window of the passenger's side of the car that Kol rented when they arrived at the airport. It was morning and the streets were filled with people having a good time early in the day, not that Gwen minded at all. She was enjoying the liveliness of the city. "It looks like people party here a lot."

Kol chuckled as he continued to stare forward while driving. "Day and night, darling."

"Nice to know," Gwen said as she smiled while staring at the many people in the sidewalk, either dressed with some souvenir, drinking or playing music; it was all fascinating to her as she practically glued her face to the window. "I can't wait to go to a party in New Orleans."

Kol chuckled to himself before he glanced at Gwen, staring at her with nothing but pure and utter adoration in his eyes. It pained him to want to remain distant with her, but he only planned to do so for a while, at least until he could trust himself to be around Gwen without the need to drain her blood and that was the main problem. Kol would never give up Gwen, but he would do anything in his power to make sure that she came to no harm, even if it meant that he was the one to end hurt in the end.

"I'll make sure you have the real experience of New Orleans," said Kol. "What better moment than to begin now?"

Gwen looked away from the window and turned to Kol as he parked the car next to the sidewalk. He turned off the car before stepping out to walk over to Gwen's side. He opened the door for her and grabbed her hand to pull her out before he closed the door behind her. He smirked at her before leading her into throng of people; his hand gripped hers tightly as she leaned into his side. Gwen was happy Kol was not being too distant, knowing that even he couldn't resist the pull they had towards one another.

"Here we are," Kol said after having walked some minutes away from their rented car and opened the door to a bar called _Rousseau's_ for Gwen to enter before him. Gwen's mouth watered at the smell of food that reached her nostrils, causing her stomach to groan, since she slept right through the plane ride with no food. "Hungry are we?" Kol asked, to which Gwen blushed a bit in embarrassment as Kol stood behind her. "Let's feed that hungry hippo before you eat someone." He pushed her towards the bar, sitting down next to one another, and Kol flagged down a bartender to take their orders.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you on this lovely day?" asked the blonde bartender and was wearing a bright smile on her lips in greeting as she stared at both Gwen and Kol.

This young woman looked to be in her early to mid-twenties, who had an attractive face with green-blue eyes and dark lashes. Her blonde her was in waves that the upper part was pulled back and pinned on the top of the back of her head, which exposed her strong jawline. She wore little to no make-up. And her work attire consisted of casual but modest clothes with an apron over her clothes. Her name was Camille.

"We'll have your best and largest breakfast that only has bacon and-or ham for meat," Kol said, having not even looked at the menu's contents as he smiled politely at Camille. "Also, she'll"—he pointed to Gwen with a thumb—"have iced tea and I'll have a glass of scotch."

Camille nodded, but frowned at Kol's last request. "Not to mean any offense, but…isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" she asked, while Kol simply stared at her with a blank look, but he had a smile on his lips that looked rather predatory to the bartender. "We will have an open bar tonight, if you want to come by."

Kol leaned forward towards Camille, but Gwen held his arm to stop him from potentially killing the girl. "Kol, please, it's too early for this."

" **I'll have a scotch and then you will run along with your judgy little mind that I am not putting up with this early in the day,** " Kol said as he compelled the blonde-haired woman. "Chip chop."

Camille nodded with a soft smile before turning around to handle their order. She walked away from them and went to the kitchen, opening the door to find Sophie Deveraux cooking gumbo, if Camille's nose knew any better. Sophie glanced at Camille and smiled before continuing with her cooking, wiping away any sweat that remained on her skin from the heat that came off from whatever she cooked.

"I have two breakfast orders," Camille said to Sophie, who could only spare short glances at the blonde to confirm she was listening to what Camille was telling her. "Only ham and bacon." She then turned around to leave.

"Specials?" asked Sophie, needing confirmation for what breakfast she was making.

"Yup," Camille said before leaving the kitchen, leaving the door slightly open.

Suddenly, Sophie could not help but glance at the door that was slightly ajar, her eyes landing on the two lone figures that sat at the bar and where very close to one another. Sophie walked over to the door, keeping herself hidden behind the door as her eyes stared at the blonde woman that was smiling adoringly at the brown-haired man, who was stroking the hand of hers that he gripped in his on his lap as his eyes kept track on every word that said the blonde. Sophie frowned as she watched them, still not knowing what it was about them that called to her and told her that these two people she had never seen before where emanating power.

Sophie could not stop but question the reason that a shiver went down her spine as she stared at the couple. Her magic was reacting and she had to keep herself in check, or she would find herself dead in mere seconds. From looking at the brown-haired man, she could tell that he was a very old vampire. It was the girl that had her questioning what species she was. The power that she sensed from the girl was startling and unbelievable. She knew that something was up.

Sophie frowned, honestly not knowing what to do with the presence that this couple caused her. "What the hell?"

* * *

"What is this place?" Gwen asked as she stood in front of a large mansion, the primary color being white. "It's so big."

Kol closed the trunk of the car after having taken out their bags and placed them on the ground to carry them into the mansion later. He walked over to Gwen as he stared at the mansion, not having that much memory of the place, considering he was daggered during the time that his family lived there in the nineteenth century, but he remembered what it was and who it belonged to.

"This was the home of the governor of New Orleans once upon a time," he explained, causing Gwen to whip her head to stare up at him.

She was fascinated by the fact that the home they were supposed to stay in belonged to someone who was of vital importance in history. She figured this would be as close as she would ever get to sleeping in a room where the president of the United Sates slept. The history of things fascinated her, which Kol satisfied with stories and actual facts that historians never knew about. He granted Gwen a different view of how things actually happened and she loved to hear about it.

"Really?" she asked, not truly believing that this home belonged to a former governor of New Orleans.

He turned his attention to her, grinning in amusement at her fascination. "There was an understanding with the governor when we first arrived to New Orleans. He kept our secret of being vampires, allowing us to roam the streets and feed discreetly and we paid him with gold to keep his status at the top of the food chain."

Gwen snorted as he placed an arm around her waist to guide her towards the front door of the mansion. "You followed that rule?"

"I am insulted that you think I would not," Kol said as he wiggled his eyebrows at her, to which Gwen rolled her eyes at playfully with a playful nudge to his ribs.

They walked towards the front door and found it locked when Gwen tried to open it. Kol hummed, unfazed as he took hold of the doorknob and twisted it with supernatural force, smirking in victory towards Gwen as he pushed the door open.

"You could've knocked," Gwen scolded him and entered the house, him following behind her. Looking around the place, Gwen's nose wrinkled at how big and strange it felt. "I don't like the vibe of this place."

"You'll get used to it," Kol said as he also looked around, noticing that the mansion underwent many changes during the decades. "Nik actually killed the governor's son here." Gwen turned around and looked to Kol with a raised eyebrow, not too surprised by his revelation. "He threw him from the second floor and landed with a broken neck where you're standing right now."

Gwen jumped away from the spot she was standing, while Kol laughed at the puffed look on her face. It was too cute and adorable, which is why he enjoyed teasing her as much as he did on a daily basis. But he always took care not to push her too much, since her temper could rival his or Niklaus'. Besides, it did get him to sleep on the couch once in France when he poked too much fun at her. She was accepting of some fun poked on her, but not too much.

"Not funny," Gwen said, but her attention then went to the lack of welcome, so she decided that she should be the one to announce their presence. "Niklaus Mikaelson!" She grinned as she looked at Kol. "We've come for your soul!"

"Gwen?"

Gwen turned to the voice, freezing when she came face to face with one Rebekah Mikaelson, who had an astonished look on her face as she looked over Gwen. Behind Rebekah was Hayley. Both Original and werewolf had finished eating lunch when they heard the sound of someone entering the mansion and the calling of Klaus. While Rebekah stared at Gwen disbelievingly, the werewolf kept herself and the child growing within her out of sight, but Kol did notice her.

Rebekah chuckled softly as she approached Gwen, not believing that she was actually hearing Gwen's heart beating within her chest. The sound of the soft pounding caused Rebekah to smile. "You're actually alive." Rebekah could not figure out what to do. She and Gwen did not leave things between one another on a good note the last time they saw each other. "I can hear your heart."

"And immortal," Gwen said with a nod of her head. Rebekah's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm also a witch."

Rebekah made a confused sound at the back of her throat as she stared at Gwen with wide eyes, not knowing how to process this information, but she knew for sure that she wanted to hatch things up with Gwen. "Weny, I just want to say how sorry I am."

Before Rebekah could utter another word, Gwen had embraced her, her arms wrapped around Rebekah's neck as the other blonde stood there with a blank mind. Before long, Rebekah smiled as she wrapped her own arms around Gwen, both of them nuzzling their faces in the blonde hair of the other one.

Gwen was ready to put everything behind her. She may not forget what happened and may never will, but she could not hold on to things that would only do more harm than good in her life. Rebekah may have betrayed her, but she also understood the Original's actions, she just couldn't agree with them. Still, she was starting her second chance at life with a fresh start with everyone. Living with Originals was bound to cause more grief in the future, so it was better not to hold onto the little things.

Rebekah released a sigh of pure belief as she closed her eyes, accepting Gwen's forgiveness, not caring that she will continuously hear more about it during the course of their immortal lives. She may have lost some of Gwen's trust, but she was glad that she finally had her friend back. Yes, she knew she belonged to Kol and Klaus as well, but they could all share her.

Speaking of her brother, Rebekah glanced at Kol. Rebekah pulled away from Gwen, both of them staring at Kol, who wore a blank look on his face as he stared at Rebekah. Unlike Gwen, Rebekah knew her brother would not be as easy to earn forgiveness from. Kol was known for holding grudges for centuries and he never forgot slights made against him. Kol did not mind Gwen and Rebekah reconciling, but that did not mean he had to do the same, which Gwen understood.

"Hello, Kol," Rebekah greeted, nervous about Kol's way of greeting. She only wanted to make things right between them, especially now that he was given a second chance at life and there was a new Mikaelson on the way.

Kol nodded at his sister. "Stop looking like a kicked pup, Bekah." Kol smirked. "I'm the one who died, remember?"

"Kol," Gwen warned as she connected her eyes with him, not wanting a fight to break out just as they arrive.

Kol shifted his eyes to Rebekah and sighed. "Our bags are outside. You can start your groveling by taking them to our room."

"Over my body dying once more," Rebekah snapped in return as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. She really wanted to try and fix things, but she would not let Kol take advantage like this. "Now that you're alive, I'd imagine you'd want to do everything yourself, brother."

While Kol and Rebekah bickered, Gwen's attention fell on Hayley, who noticed that Gwen was staring at her. Having regarded one another, Gwen approached Hayley with a small smile on her lips. The blonde immortal's eyes fell on the werewolf's midsection and actually saw the beginning of a baby bump taking form. And for a split second, Gwen actually imagined ever possessing a baby bump of her own.

"So," Gwen sighed as she tuned out Kol and Rebekah, her attention fully on Hayley. "We meet again."

Hayley nodded with her lips in a thin line. "Yep." She sighed. "I would have hoped we'd meet on better circumstances...again."

"Well, look at the cat that found her way home and with a beating heart, no less," Klaus' voice said from behind Gwen, silencing everyone that was crowded in the foyer. Kol and Rebekah ceased bickering and turned to find Klaus at the end of the stairs, smiling at Gwen, who also had a wide smile on her lips. "What, no hello?"

"Hey, Mouse," Gwen greeted as she went to hug Klaus, both chuckling.

Gwen was happy to be reunited with Klaus. Yes, they had some issues to work through, but she was ready to go through them. She also wanted to stay for a while, probably more than what Kol wanted to, but she knew that even he had to admit that coming to New Orleans was a good idea. They just had to make the best of it and survive.

Gwen pulled away from Klaus, but kept her hands on his shoulders as she grinned up at him. "I suggest that the moment you have that baby, you make me the godmother."

"What?" Rebekah shrieked. "I'm the sister by blood; I have the only right to claim such a title. You wait for the other one."

"Other one?" asked Hayley with wide eyes, her mind stopping at the very thought of ever having another child with Niklaus Mikaelson. "That is never happening and I am not sorry to say that."

Before another second passed, Gwen smacked Klaus right across his face, to which he looked at her with indignant eyes. Gwen crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him, Klaus glaring down at her in return. Rebekah was shocked and waiting for Klaus to somehow dagger Gwen. Hayley was also shocked to have seen Gwen actually slap Klaus and still be in one piece. But Kol was the one who was enjoying himself and chuckled out loud, earning a glare from Klaus.

"Where's Elijah?" Gwen demanded mora than asked as she continued to glare up at Klaus. "I swear, if you daggered him, I'll give you the worst headache of your life."

Klaus sighed as he rolled his eyes. "He is safe."

"Not for long," Rebekah piped in. Gwen and Kol turned to look to her with questioning eyes, which Rebekah noticed. "Marcel has a powerful witch under his wing and she's the one locating any witches who do magic for him to execute."

"Who is this witch?" asked Kol, intrigued by a witch with such power that was able to locate witches while performing magic.

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders. "Some sixteen year-old girl with a temper to go with her outbursts. She threw me around a room like a rag doll and I'd rather avoid that happening again, but she has Elijah, since Nik"—her eyes fell on Klaus, who stared at her with an unwavering look on his face—"decided to barter our brother to gain Marcel's trust."

Gwen and Kol turned to Klaus with the same thought running through their minds. "Are you insane?"

"I have a plan, which I hope will not be interrupted, given that when Rebekah so graciously did she almost gave away everything," Klaus began to explain as he took his time to place his gaze on the four people in front of him before making his way towards the living room in search for a strong drink with everyone following him. "I will need time and patience and no unnecessary massacres," he said as he looked to Kol, who smirked, "nor spats between old lovers." He looked to Rebekah.

"Old lovers?" Gwen asked with furrowed eyebrows as she took a seat on one of the sofas, while Rebekah sat on a loveseat and so did Hayley.

"Rebekah had a misguided fling with Marcel," Kol explained as he plopped on the sofa next to Gwen with an arm around her shoulders. "Well, until daddy dearest decided to pay New Orleans a visit. I can only assume that he took advantage over our absence to take control of the city and proclaim himself king of New Orleans, so I propose we teach the little whelp a lesson and be done with it. We get Elijah back, squash the witch and Nik gets to be the tyrant he so desperately wants to be."

"What about the baby?" Gwen asked as Klaus turned his attention to them with a drink in hand, finding a spot by leaning on the mantle of the fireplace in the room. Gwen's eyes fell on Hayley, who shrank back into her seat. "Where do the baby and her mother fit into this?"

"The longer they are alive, the faster someone will find out about them and use them against you, Nik," Kol said as he glanced at his older brother, who kept his gaze squared. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Gwen glared at Kol, shrugging off his arm from her shoulders before glaring at Klaus. "She's to remain safe and that baby _will_ be born." The mirrors in the room cracked completely and everyone looked around at each mirror that was now cracked.

"Marcel's witch will sense your magic, Cat," Klaus said as he looked at the broken glass around the room, feeling concern sweep into his bones at the prospect of vampires knocking on the door to demand Gwen's head on a platter. "They will come for you."

Gwen did not know what came over her, but she was sure it had to do with the fact that Hayley and Klaus' child might be in danger. It was a maternal instinct that surfaced for a split second. Kol noticed this and could not help but find it rather attractive of her. But Gwen saw this opportunity of a child like Elijah did; it was a ray of hope that was blessed upon Klaus to be able to find some form of redemption and happiness in his life. And they would be damned before they let this chance pass.

"It would be amusing for them to try," Kol said with a smirk on his lips, surprising Klaus with how calm he was about this. Then he knew that Kol had something up his sleeve, if it wasn't slaughtering any vampire that dared come for Gwen. "Alas, she is invisible to everyone."

"How?" asked Rebekah.

"I cloaked my necklace," Gwen began to explain as she grasped the pendant of her necklace, where Lilwen resided. "And by wearing it…"

"You're cloaking yourself," Klaus finished her sentence, feeling rather impressed, but that was to be expected from the knowledge Kol possessed about witchcraft. "I'm impressed."

"We have a witch on our side," Rebekah said with a grin on her lips.

"Still learning the ropes, but I'm ready for anything," Gwen said as she toyed with her pendant.

Hayley nodded. "Hope you kick ass."

Kol snorted. "None of you know the half of it." He decided to give his siblings a bone about Gwen's power. "She is a direct descendant of an Ancient, a powerful species of witches that are now extinct with the exception of one."

"No offense, Cat," Klaus began as he locked eyes with Gwen. "You're our new weapon."

"None taken." Gwen smiled. "But we still need to get Elijah back and keep the baby safe."

"You're starting to sound like Elijah," Klaus mumbled to himself, but Gwen heard him loud and clear as she turned her jade-green eyes to his form.

"Good," Gwen and Hayley remarked at the same time, both sharing a glance before looking to Klaus.

"At least I'll be able to drill some sense into that thick skull of yours," said Gwen.

Klaus chuckled as he looked to Gwen. "He did end up with a dagger in his chest."

"Want to run that by us once more, Nik?" Kol said as his warning eyes clashed with Klaus' amused ones. Even in jest, Kol would not tolerate any threats made against _his_ Gwen. It made him bristle and tense just by thinking about it. "Maybe I'll have multiple daggers plunged into your undead corpse and see if that will work."

While Klaus and Kol engaged into playful banter by throwing not so subtle threats at one another, the women in the room could only roll their eyes at the show of testosterone that was on display. Their annoyance was ignored and they knew they would have to intervene, if they wanted to get results out of this family meeting.

"Enough!" Rebekah hissed, silencing her brothers as she stood on her feet. "We need a plan and we need to work together, not argue about meaningless things"—she looked to Klaus, who huffed—"or past grievances." Her gaze now rested on Kol, since he was not one to simply forget that he was not avenged by his own family. "Now, Nik will devise a devious plan that will shake us to our core." Klaus grinned at this as he saluted his sister with his drink before taking a sip. "Kol will show restraint and not kill many of the locals or construct a massacre." Kol scoffed as he mockingly pretended to be insulted. "Gwen will be kept as the hidden surprise, help me look after Hayley and with any other mischief that we can come up with." She looked around the room, waiting for a complaint. "Any comments?" Kol raised his hand, as if he was in school. "Yes, Kol?"

"Why not leave?" Kol asked as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "After freeing Elijah, we should pack and go our separate ways."

Hayley raised her hand and pointed at her womb. "Psycho Sophie is a witch that connected her life with mine, so I can't leave further than the radius she set up for this house arrest."

"She also threatened to kill the baby," Rebekah supplied. "She's a suicidal witch that has nothing to lose."

"Everyone has something to lose," said Kol. "We just have to dig a little deeper."

"Regardless of such mundane things, we must focus on not causing any trouble," Klaus said as he stood almost in the middle of the room. "If Marcel was nervous about three Originals in town before, he would be thoroughly suspicious with four back in town now."

"Why not use that against him?" Kol suggested as he leaned back on the sofa, and Gwen scooted to his side to have his arm wrapped around her shoulders once more.

Klaus turned to Kol, looking pensive as he contemplated his brother's words. "I knew there was a perfect reason for you to be here, Kol."

"Happy to help," Kol said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Klaus drank the remaining contents of his drink before sighing. "Well, I convene this family meeting." He looked around with a fake smile. "Same time tomorrow?"

Klaus stared out from one of the windows that were in one of the many studies of the mansion. He grasped a glass in one of his hands, which he had folded over his chest. He had poured some scotch in his glass, needing some form of relief from having dealt with Gwen and Kol settling in his home. It only added to the headache that Rebekah had only managed to develop with her daily exploits. He would be caught dead before he ever admitted that he needed his family and that he worried for their safety to anyone, not even his family.

Klaus worried about Kol's temper, considering who their father was and the temper that his siblings also adopted from their father. Kol and Rebekah caused trouble, put together and they caused mayhem, which would trump his plans. It was not without saying that the werewolf and his offspring were part of his priorities and Elijah would have a fit, should any harm fell on them.

And yet, he felt he did have some form of relief in all of this.

* * *

"Are you hiding?" Gwen asked as she appeared on the doorway with a smile on her lips and arms crossed over her chest.

Klaus grinned and took a sip from his drink before turning around to face Gwen, his form of relief. "No, but I needed a break from the insanity that is my brother and your lover." Gwen gave him a look, seeing right through him and his worries, to which Klaus sighed and motioned for her to take a seat on one of the two chairs in front of a desk. Once Gwen sat down, Klaus decided they were in a much needed time to catch up. "Where is your lover, who I hope to never hear you with doing intimate activities?"

Gwen blushed before she cleared her throat. "I don't know what you're talking about and he is unpacking in the beautiful room we'll be staying in." Klaus had a weird look on his face now as he tried to not ask what he wanted to know, but also did not want to know. "What?" Gwen snapped, feeling awkward by the way Klaus looked at her.

"Have you…" Klaus began, but could not find himself finishing the question he wanted to ask that he also did not want to ask. "I mean, you and Kol…" he tried once more, but resorted to taking a large gulp from his drink before he decided to try once more.

"Really?" Gwen asked, already having figured what Klaus wanted to know. "Do you really want to know?"

"Actually, no," Klaus said as he shook his head and looked down at the remainder of his drink. "I'd rather think you're the sweet and innocent virgin ghost that I rescued."

"Changing topics," Gwen chuckled, feeling exposed and embarrassed as her cheeks flared.

Klaus nodded in agreement. "You know you are in quite the danger, not that I worry too much, given that Kol has grown to be quite the protective one."

"You have no idea," Gwen said, chuckling as her fingers played with one another on the armrest of her chair. "But it's sweet of him." Gwen took a deep breath and suddenly felt she needed her best friend right now to talk about everything and anything. "Can we be the best friends we've always been for a moment?"

Klaus chuckled. "We're always best friends." He cleared his throat. "You did thrust that title upon me without my consent, so why not live up to it." Klaus took a seat on the chair next to Gwen, mockingly showing excitement on his face. "Now, fess up."

Gwen snorted before she began laughing, Klaus joining her seconds later. Gwen's insides twisted in agony the more she laughed, but managed to calm down before she lost her breath. "Don't ever say that again, unless it's in my company and I need a good laugh," she said, so Klaus nodded. Gwen chuckle once more before she sobered. "I just wanted to tell someone how much I love Kol and that he has been treating me like a princess and what-not."

"And you can't talk with Rebekah about this because…" Klaus trailed off as he took a sip of his drink.

"Well, I already agreed to spend the next few days on girl time and I also need your bold and blunt advice without being dragged to shop with her," Gwen said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, I missed spending time with you."

"Well, before we begin, I have to say that you look better alive," said Klaus, to which Gwen smiled. "And I also missed you, Cat."

"Me too, Mouse," said Gwen. "Now, start with the whole thing about getting a werewolf pregnant."

Klaus groaned, whereas Gwen smirked in enjoyment. And they both knew it was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **This is the end of this chapter! Tell me your thoughts and expectations in reviews. Share your opinions and I will try to deliver to the best of my ability. You can also Fave or Follow, whichever one is to your liking.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed!**

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	6. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay, so I decided to give you guys a longer chapter. It's the time for finals and I don't have enough time to write, but rest assured that after the first week of December, I will be full-time on my stories. Also, I am finding the time to write other stories that or their background, at least. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

No matter how many times Gwen had slept with Kol in the same bed, as a handful as they had been, they always managed to get tangled around one another. Kol would always be the one to take initiative and wrap his arms around Gwen's figure to pull her as close as he could to his body. This had been the norm for the months that they had been a couple and sleeping together—intimately or not—and it had not changed one single night. And, should Gwen ever learn when Kol had a problem, waking up to find him facing away from her would be a clue, which actually stung Gwen in her heart.

Gwen sighed as she sat on the bed, her back leaning against the headboard as she watched Kol sleep with his back to her, or she thought he was sleeping. The sun shined through the cracks of the curtains, casting a thin line over the covers of the bed as the room remained quite dark. Since she could not see his face, she could not tell if he was sleeping or not. Now, Gwen felt gloomy and hurt that Kol was going to such methods to keep her out of _harm_. She would have called him out on it, but the last thing she wanted was for him to get more stubborn in the heat of the argument and completely shoot her down with excuses or silent treatments; not to mention the possibility of him going on a killing spree.

Gwen sighed once more in defeat before pushing the covers off of her and getting out of bed. She grabbed her cozy long robe and slipped it on over Kol's shirt that she was wearing. It was a deep blue robe that was soft and warm in plush fleece. It was a _very_ cozy robe that also had front pockets. She had decided to match it with fuchsia-colored slippers that were a size bigger than her own, so that they were more comfortable.

With one last glance in Kol's direction, Gwen left the room to follow the scent of pancakes being made in the kitchen of the house.

Kol remained unmoving with eyes open and feeling like a total arse. It had not been his intention to make Gwen feel the way she did, but his fear of harming her was too strong. He could still taste Gwen's blood on his gums and how delicious it tasted as it ran down his throat. He shook his head before his thoughts got the best of him. It always wounded him the many times he remembered when he first bit Gwen when they were in Denver. He had been so distraught and _afraid_ …afraid that he would lose her. He always longed to have someone like her, someone that would love _him_ and choose _him_. He wanted this, he wanted Gwen, which was something he did not have with his siblings, who would choose one another in the blink of an eye and leave him to the wolves.

Kol sighed as he sat up on the bed, the sheets pooling around his waist with his chest naked while raking a hand through his tousled hair. He groaned as he noticed the room was lacking Gwen and so he fell back on the bed.

"Am I interrupting any moping?" Klaus asked as he leaned on the doorway of the room, smirking at Kol, who was glaring at him openly.

Kol sighed as he placed his arm over his eyes. "What do you want, Niklaus?"

"I need some assistance in locating a key pawn in my little game of chess," Klaus said as he stepped into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. "I would prefer taking Gwen, but it seems you and I need to sort some things out and bond as brothers."

"I thought you only do that with Elijah," Kol said as he lifted himself onto his elbow, staring at his older brother. "Oh, wait, you daggered him and sold him off to a potential threat."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated," Klaus hissed, while Kol remained unaffected by Klaus' subtle threat. "I need your assistance, and seeing there is a lack of sexual tension in the room, I can only guess that you and Gwen are on the outs at the moment."

"Sod off," Kol almost growled as he got out of bed, walking over to his closet as he contemplates getting out of the house with Klaus. "What do you need from me?"

Klaus grinned. "A good wingman."

* * *

"Something smells delicious," Gwen said with a smile as she entered the kitchen of the mansion to find Rebekah and Hayley sitting on the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen. At the stove was a middle-aged brunette woman, who was clearly compelled to cook breakfast this morning. Gwen rolled her eyes at this as she approached the blonde Original and pregnant werewolf. "You could have asked me to cook you breakfast."

"I know, but I doubt you want to busy yourself with that," Rebekah said as Gwen took a seat between Rebekah and Hayley. "You're alive once more, so pamper yourself."

"I'd rather not pamper myself any more, considering Kol is being a big baby," Gwen grumbled, to which Rebekah perked up with an amused grinned on her lips.

"Trouble in paradise?" asked Hayley as she sipped from her glass of water.

"Hush, wolf girl," Rebekah said as she gave Hayley an annoyed look before her attention turned to Gwen, who actually looked miserable. The last thing Rebekah wanted was for Gwen, after having made up, to be miserable. She wanted Gwen to smile and Kol not be that much of a loon. "What happened?"

These were the times that Gwen needed Rebekah for. While Klaus was her best friend and she could tell him everything and anything, she could not tell him everything and anything at the same time. Klaus gave advice and insight that Gwen took into consideration, but he was still a man in the end. Rebekah told her everything a woman wanted to hear; in other words, girl-talk.

"Kol seems to think that keeping me at a distance will lessen his chances on hurting me when we decide to get creative in our alone time, since he got a little carried away when I offered him to drink some of my blood," Gwen explained, having wanted to get that out in a long while. It was enough that Kol neglected to touch her or be affectionate. It was also causing Gwen to feel unwanted and thinking that with Kol's endurance that he did not mind at all that he spent such time without much contact from her. "And I am feeling lousy."

"Here you go," said the middle-aged woman as she placed a batch of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon on the top of the island with three plates and utensils for the supernatural women to use. She also placed a glass of juice in front of Gwen and a glass full of her own blood in front of Rebekah. "I hope you enjoy."

"Thanks, love," Rebekah said as she locked eyes with the human woman. " **Now go home and spend the rest of the day resting, you've earned it.** " With that, the brunette woman left the kitchen with a kind smile.

Gwen snatched Rebekah's glass of blood and drank it. She had been itching for some blood, since the last time she had blood was before the flight to the States from France. The dark red liquid was like the most delicious fruits' juice that Gwen had ever had in her entire life.

"Hey!" Rebekah shrieked indignantly. "That was mine."

"Yes, was." Gwen took another sip as she threw Rebekah a smirk. "Unlike you, I do not have fangs or compulsion to take what I want, I am still getting used to using magic and I do not have the energy to get up and fetch a blood bag, so here." She pushed her orange juice towards Rebekah, who groaned and took a sip from the juice. "I love you."

Rebekah rolled her eyes playfully as the three of them dug into the food. "Yeah, whatever."

"You drink blood?" Hayley asked Gwen, weirdly not affected by the sight of Gwen drinking fresh human blood.

Gwen turned to Hayley after chewing on a piece of bacon. "Yeah, being an Immortal witch has its downside to balance things out. Like vampires, I need blood to keep my strength and to not desiccate and whatever."

"Sucks," Hayley said as she continued eating a little out of everything.

"Yep," said Gwen.

"Why don't we go out tonight?" Rebekah suggested as she ate some bacon. Gwen and Hayley turned to Rebekah with one eyebrow raised on each of their faces in question. "We can have fun and ignore everything else that is making our lives dreadful and depressing."

Hayley raised a hand. "I'm on house arrest, remember?"

"Right," Rebekah sighed before turning her attention to Gwen. "You up for it?"

Hayley cleared her throat. "Forget about the pregnant girl."

"You can't drink, so you'll only be sitting in a corner pouting," said Rebekah. "Now," she turned to Gwen once more, "ready to get wasted?"

"I am so ready," said Gwen.

"No one is getting wasted," Klaus announced as he entered the kitchen with Kol trailing behind him, both of them dressed to leave the house. "We cannot alert Marcel to us having an Immortal witch with unlimited power, so I suggest you three"—he pointed at Gwen, Rebekah and Hayley—"stay here and look after the werewolf carrying my supposed child and keep yourselves out of harm's way." Klaus' eyebrows frowned in mock concern. "You girls think you can handle that?"

"Get out," Rebekah and Gwen said simultaneously, the three of them wearing a look of annoyance on their faces.

Klaus lifted his hands up in surrender while smirking at the three women eating breakfast in the kitchen. Kol was left to bid goodbye to accompany Klaus in running his little errand that he was not too keen on helping with.

"You're going with him?" Gwen asked Kol.

Kol shrugged. "I'm interested." That was the only excuse Kol could come up with that did not inquire more questions to be asked. "I'll see you soon, darling." He left the kitchen without another word, leaving Gwen feeling even worse now as she stared after him.

"We definitely need to go out and get drunk," said Rebekah, having noticed the tension between Gwen and Kol.

Gwen turned to Rebekah. "Nik told us not to leave the house."

"Are we known to do as we're told, Weny?" Rebekah asked with a smirk on her lips.

Gwen nodded and turned to Hayley. "We don't have to tell you not to leave the house at any moment, do we?"

"I'm good," said Hayley.

"We'll throw you the best baby shower in return," Gwen proposed.

"But tonight is ours," said Rebekah, mischievous grin on her lips.

* * *

Kol was beginning to believe that Klaus was leading him in an endless circle around the French Quarter, which was beginning to tire him. They had gone around the city for a great amount of time, and they have yet to find something that would indicate Kol that Klaus was doing something productive and not a waste of his time. Still, he was glad he had some time to think about Gwen and how idiotic he was being. Yes, he had a moment of weakness and no control, but he intended to fix things with Gwen when he returned from accompanying Klaus to nowhere.

"How come you're making Gwen miserable, brother?" Klaus asked, surprising Kol with the question as they continued to walk. "She has a certain way of hiding it, which is by smiling a too perfect smile that twitches because it is forced."

"I _may_ have something to do with that," said Kol.

Klaus stopped and stopped Kol by placing a hand on his younger brother's chest, stopping him as well with a knowing grin on his lips. "You have everything to do with that." Klaus approached Kol menacingly as he glared at his taller but younger brother. "I did not have a chance to make a spectacular speech about what I would do to you, if you hurt Gwen, but I will give you the short version."

Kol scoffed and pushed away Klaus' hand that was on his chest. "What, you'll dagger me?"

"Oh, no, that would be too easy and too lenient," said Klaus, while Kol's smirk began to fade. "I will not go into detail, since we are in a rush and violent statements or threats will not provide the message I want to give you, brother." Kol's eyes remained locked on Klaus', neither giving in to the other, which was something they both were familiar with. "But I find that threatening you with unimaginable tortures full of pain is a force inevitable, should you ever bring harm to our Gwen."

" _My_ Gwen," Kol corrected with his vampire visage making a brief appearance, to which Klaus grinned in amusement.

Klaus chuckled and turned around to continue walking, Kol following once more. "I have known her for far longer than you, Kol. Still, her devotion to you may be as equal as her devotion to me, but we will truly know when the time comes for her to choose between us."

"I will never make her choose between us, Nik," Kol said as he walked beside Klaus. "I will only drive her away and make her angry with me, which is not what I intend to do, especially with the damage I have already caused."

"That is true," said Klaus. "You've been digging your grave. I suggest you do not tempt her further. Cat is not one to hold grudges, but tends to hold unwavering grudges against those who have wronged her gravely; I advise you to avoid doing that for obvious reasons."

Annoyed, Kol groaned as he walked next to Klaus on a sidewalk with people walking back and forth. "What are we doing, Nik?" Kol was losing his patience and he needed to talk to Gwen as soon as possible. "I thought we were doing a recon of some sort to thwart your little ward's reign."

"We are," Klaus said as he stopped walking and stared across the street. "I was merely looking for the right shop to run our errand."

"And what shop would that be?" Kol asked as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants while standing next to Klaus, both of their eyes set on the shop called _Jardin Gris_. "What are we looking at?"

"I merely wanted to figure out who was the one that gave Hayley the wolfsbane to abort my child," Klaus explained as they watched the woman of Creole descent that worked in the shop. She had a petite build, brown skin with curly dark hair and warm brown eyes. "It was convenient how Hayley got the wolfsbane and was attacked not soon after by two of Marcel's Nightwalkers."

"What do you want to do with her?" Kol asked. "Want to ruffle her feathers a bit?"

"Not yet," said Klaus. "I still want to figure out how she fits into this all, but I have a hunch we will be in need of her soon enough." He turned to Kol. "Let's grab a drink and head home."

"Smartest thing you've said all day," Kol sighed, his mouth craving the rich flavor and burning that alcohol provided, even if he needed a whole liquor supply to be able to feel its effects.

Klaus and Kol both began to walk away and began to look for a bar that caught their fancy. "I'd rather not leave Gwen and Rebekah alone for too long while guarding Hayley," Klaus said, not trusting that his sister and friend would be too interested in being cooped up in a house all day long while babysitting a pregnant werewolf. "They might actually cause more harm than good."

"Amen to that, brother," said Kol.

* * *

"Love the music," Gwen said with a wide smile on her lips as she and Rebekah stood outside of a pumping bar, which was one out of many in the French Quarter, but this one was the one that attracted Gwen and Rebekah the most with the jazz music that was being played live inside. "Let's go!" Gwen chuckled as she grabbed Rebekah's hand and pulled her to the entrance of the building that was named _Rousseau's_.

Gwen wore a fit and flare dress that reached above her knees and a sweetheart neckline. The detailed paisley print of the dress was in the color of navy blue, orange and white. It was a short-sleeved dress that she matched with black booties and a moto jacket to keep her warm. Her accessories were her signature necklace with Lilwen slumbering within, earrings and a few bracelets. Her wavy blonde hair was loose and free with her bangs swept to the side over her forehead and framing her face.

Rebekah wore a rust-colored, long-sleeved top, which was crafted from slub knit with floral lace paneling and a vented curved hem. She paired the top with dark blue skinny jeans that hugged her long legs. She wore black heels and a dark jacket. Her long, blonde hair was also loose, but in softer waves with little make-up and few accessories.

"Eager to have some fun, are we?" Rebekah asked as they passed people that exited the building, stumbling about and searching for more fun. "It wouldn't have to do with a certain brother of mine, would it?"

Gwen clicked her tongue. "No talking about him tonight." Gwen smiled. "We're going to have fun tonight."

"Until Nik finds out we neglected our duties," Rebekah noted in amusement and not afraid, since she now had custody of the daggers that would put her in a dead-like slumber.

"Screw him for tonight," said Gwen. "Besides, girls need their night out."

Once inside, both girls smiled at the people dancing to music and having fun. The dancefloor was full as people danced to the jazz music that was being played by a band on a stage at a corner in the room. Gwen and Rebekah walked over to a free space at the bar that they could lean against. Rebekah was quick in ordering some strong drinks for the both of them.

"I don't know, Bex," Gwen said as the bartender handed them each their drink. "I have never gone drinking before."

Rebekah's eyes widened as she grabbed her drink. "Never?" Gwen shook her head as she grabbed her drink and sniffed the blue liquid. "Let's remedy that, shall we?" the Original asked as she lifted her glass towards Gwen to toast.

Gwen nodded while smiling. "Fine by me."

They both toasted and threw their drinks into their mouths in one mouthful, treating it as if it was a shot of tequila. Rebekah shook her head as the burning liquid went down her throat, whereas Gwen wrinkled her nose at the same burning liquid in her throat that affected her more than it did on Rebekah. This action continued on as Rebekah compelled the bartender to continue giving them free drinks and they continued to down them without a second thought, both of them talking and laughing as the effects of the alcohol began to make effect, especially on Gwen, who was not an Original with a high tolerance for alcohol.

Neither Gwen nor Rebekah noticed two sets of predatory eyes that had zeroed in on them both with a hunger churning in their stomach as they stared at the two beautiful blondes that were having fun.

* * *

"Sweethearts, we're home!" Klaus called into the house, waiting for a reply as he Kol closed the front door behind them, having arrived home not too long after dark after having spent time sharing a few drinks in each other's company. Klaus frowned at the lack of answer and goes searching around the house. "Rebekah! Gwen!" he called and so did Kol, but the younger call for Gwen as they looked around the house.

Kol sped up the stairs in supernatural speed, his destination being his and Gwen's bedroom with the thought of letting bygones only be bygones between them. Once in their room, his eyes narrowed as he looked around the room to find it empty. He sighed and left the room to find Klaus and the whereabouts of Gwen as his mind began to take over the possibilities of where she might be at such an hour.

Once in the kitchen, Klaus found some relief at seeing Hayley eating. "Hayley."

"Have a nice day, boys?" she asked Klaus and Kol, looking a little too innocent in their opinions. Hayley dropped her gaze and continued eating her dinner of take-out Chinese food. "How was your day?" she tried once more.

Klaus' eyes narrowed as he stared at her, but Kol beat him with his own question. "Where's Gwen?"

"She's around," Hayley answered.

Unlike Klaus, Kol had no reservation in harming the werewolf girl while being mindful of the child she carried. In mere seconds Kol grasped Hayley by her neck and pinned her back against the counter of the island in the middle of the kitchen. Kol glared at her as she grasped the wrist of the arm that was tightening his hand around her throat, causing her to gasp for air and trying to claw his hand away from her throat.

"Enough!" Klaus hissed as he pushed Kol away from Hayley to land against the wall with Klaus shielding a coughing Hayley.

"What is it with you guys always going with murder before questioning?" Hayley asked as she rubbed her throat, which was bruised and already healing.

Kol tried advancing on her once more, but Klaus stopped him. "No harm will come to her without hurting _my child_!"

"Fine!" Kol said, still glaring at Hayley. "With the lack of Gwen and Bekah waltzing into the room, I can only assume they are not in the mansion." Kol tried to approach Hayley once more and Klaus let him, having not been given a reason that his brother would harm Hayley. "I will only ask one more time." Hayley's eyes remained locked with Kol's, but hers held wariness and a hint of fear for this unpredictable vampire. "Where are my girlfriend and my darling sister?"

* * *

"Having fun yet?" asked Rebekah over the music as she danced with Gwen to the jazz music, both of them having had their fair share of drinks.

Gwen chuckled as she danced without a care in the world with Rebekah. "A lot of fun!"

Unlike Rebekah, who only felt a tad tipsy and was already sobering up, Gwen's mind was spinning from having drunk so much. She may be an immortal, but she lacked the speed of regenerative healing that Rebekah had that gave her the ability of having a high tolerance for alcohol. So Gwen was experiencing what it truly meant to be drunk for the first time in her entire life as a human, then a ghost and now an Immortal witch.

"I'm going to get another drink!" Rebekah yelled, grinning as she stopped dancing, but Gwen continued.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, sure!" She took a deep breath, but continued to sway to the music. "I'll join you in a minute!"

Gwen continued to dance to the music, laughing, while Rebekah left and pushed her way through the crowed to reach the bar. Once at the bar, Rebekah flagged a bartender to order her drinks.

"Rebekah Mikaelson," a masculine voice said, to which Rebekah groaned in annoyance as she dropped her head on the counter of the bar before looking up to find Marcel Gerard standing next to her, grinning. "Night out?"

"Yes, and I'd rather spend it with my friend in peace and fun," Rebekah snapped as she faked her smile.

Marcel chuckled. "Didn't know you had any friends."

"Friend of the family," said Rebekah.

"Yeah, I also brought with me a few of my friends," Marcel said as he glanced at his two companions that were listening to the jazz being played live. "We've had a good time feeding recently. Would you and your friend like to join us for the rest of the night?"

"Sorry, but we actually have curfew," said Rebekah, pretending to be sad about not being able to take Marcel's invitation, which was probably him trying to figure out her motive for being in New Orleans. "Nik would have a fit if we miss dinner."

"Come on," Marcel tried once more as he smirked at her, trying to persuade her as Rebekah rolled her eyes. "For old times' sake."

Unbeknownst to Rebekah, one of the pair of eyes that had been watching her and Gwen made a resolve to approach Gwen, now that she was alone.

"What do you think you're doing?" a dark-haired man with a cap on and blue eyes asked his companion, stopping the latter with a hand on the other man's shoulder. "You already had a snack, Diego. Don't you think you're pushing it?"

"Come on, Thierry," began to say Diego, who had creamy brown skin, dark brown curly hair and brown eyes. "I know the rules, man; feed, erase and leave no evidence behind. I'm no baby vamp." Diego's eyes drifted to Gwen's figure once more. "Besides, she smells delicious from here."

"Fine," Thierry sighed, not liking the idea, considering they had recently fed. "Take her to the back. I'll meet you there."

Diego grinned before making his way towards a retreating Gwen, who was making her way towards the bar to meet up with Rebekah. She stumbled a bit with her mind buzzed and people shoving her, her balance already compromised by the alcohol in her system. Just when she managed to push through the dancing people on the dancefloor, her way was blocked, causing her to look up and smile drunkenly at the figure.

"Hello," Gwen greeted with a slurred voice and glassy eyes, almost chuckling as she stared at the curly-haired man. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, the name's Diego," he introduced himself with a kind smile. "I was wondering if you could help my girlfriend with some girl stuff that happens once a month."

Finding no reason not to help, Gwen nodded with a thumb up. "Lead the way, Diego, my friend." She chuckled and let the man grasp her elbow to lead her to an exit door that led to the back of the building.

Just then, Klaus and Kol walked into the bar, both their gaze searching for the two blondes that they were looking for to drag home. Kol's eyes scanned the crowed of dancing people, trying to look for Gwen's familiar light-blonde hair that would stand out, but having no such luck.

"I'm going to lock them in the cellar," Klaus mumbled, but Kol heard him loud and clear.

The younger one of the Mikaelsons nodded in agreement. "We can make holes in the door and push their food in." They both glanced at one another, smirking as they continued to look around the bar.

* * *

"Where's your girlfriend?" Gwen slurred as she stumbled out of the building and looking around the empty alley, not finding anyone that would tell her that she was the girlfriend of the man that she ran into. She turned around and faced Diego, who was grinning at her. "What's going on?"

"There's no girlfriend," said a different voice and Gwen turned around once more to find she was cornered by Diego and Thierry. "But my friend does need your assistance."

Gwen frowned before turning back to face Diego and gasped when she noticed the protruded veins under Diego's bloodshot eyes. _Oh no_ , was the only thing running through Gwen's mind as Diego's fangs appeared before he lunged at her. The only sound that came out of Gwen's mouth was a scream as Diego's fags broke the skin of her neck.

* * *

Klaus' eyes zeroed in on the familiar form of his sister talking to Marcel. Klaus nudged Kol and motioned to Rebekah and Marcel before making their way over to them, but Kol stopped as he heard a distinct sound with his heightened hearing. Instead of following Klaus, Kol turned his attention to the exit at the back of the building.

"Here's our naughty sister and caught red-handed," Klaus announced from behind Rebekah, who stiffened at his voice before turning around to face him with no Kol in sight. It was even worse to have them both giving her hard looks that meant she was in for a major scolding. "I recall I gave you and Gwen one single errand, and you couldn't even look after it."

"We only wanted to have some fun," Rebekah replied. "Besides, we only left after dusk, so we did not leave her on her own for the whole day, Nik."

"Come on, man," Marcel interrupted as he stood in front of Klaus. "They were only having fun. I bet her friend is having the time of her life right about now."

Klaus was about to argue, but found that Kol was not with him anymore, which prompted him to ask Rebekah, "Where's Gwen?"

* * *

Kol burst through the back door as the screaming died down and looked to the side to find two vampires with Gwen. One of them was on her and he watched as the vampire fed on his Gwen. Kol did not know what happened, but pure and raw rage had surged through his body and he was ripping the vampire off of Gwen in a matter of seconds before throwing him with brute strength against a wall. Gwen was sitting on the floor, still drunk and putting pressure on the wound of her neck with a hand as she groaned in pain. Kol only had a few seconds to glance at Gwen before Thierry was on him, but Kol only batted him away with ease with a single backhand.

Diego shook his head, now noticing he was on the floor and had seen Kol attack Thierry. He hissed as his vampire visage appeared and attacked Kol once more, only to be grasped by his neck by the Original and hoisted into the air. Kol chuckled mirthlessly as he stared up at the struggling vampire that still had Gwen's blood on his lips and it _enraged_ him.

"Gwen?" Kol asked as he glanced at the shivering form of _his_ Gwen, looking too pale for his liking as she held onto her neck to stop the bleeding. She was chuckling, which concerned Kol. "Are you all right, darling?"

Gwen stopped laughing and looked to Kol before nodding. "Yeah, just a tad drunk."

Even with her neck throbbing and sending waves of pain throughout her body, the amount of alcohol that Gwen had consumed numbed it out for her, not letting her feel any pain at all. She did feel the discomfort of having been bit and the slight nudge of pain every time she moved the skin where she was bit. But, she still managed to feel all right at the time being, at least as long as she remained drunk.

Having made sure she was fine at the moment, Kol turned his attention to the vampire in his grasp. "You ought to buy a girl some dinner before making her your dinner," Kol said, his demeanor calm, but Diego was no fool as he tried to claw at the Original's hand with no result. "Well, at least, you should make sure she's not taken." Not a second later, Kol plunged his hand into the vampire's chest, causing Diego to cough out blood. "Lights out, mate."

"Stop!"

At the too familiar voice, Kol smirked and removed his bloodied hand from Diego's chest, lowering the vampire to the ground but still in Kol's hold. Kol turned around to find Marcel and Thierry standing a few feet away from Gwen, glaring at him. Distracted by handling Diego, Kol had missed Thierry leaving to fetch Marcel for help. Behind Marcel, Klaus and Rebekah appeared, their eyes landing on Gwen. Rebekah was quick to be by her friend's side and taking a look at the bite on her neck that was healing too slowly for her liking.

"What do you need?" Rebekah asked Gwen, who only smiled in return as Rebekah wrapped her jacket around Gwen's neck.

"Bit o' blood," Gwen slurred.

"Let him go," Marcel said to Kol, face hard and concerned for his companion, who had not been released and was struggling for air.

Kol chuckled. "Marcel Gerard." He pulled Diego with him and made him kneel in front of him while facing Marcel and Thierry. "I guess this"—he shook Diego—"riffraff belongs to you." Marcel and Thierry stared on, worried for their friend that was in the hands of a volatile Original. Marcel knew that anything could happen, where Kol is concerned. "He took a bite of my girl and I think that a lesson must be taught."

"He's one of my boys," Marcel said, trying to reason with someone who was not in a reasonable mood. Marcel was at a loss for words. He could handle Klaus, but he had never known how to handle Kol without Klaus by his side. "He didn't know better and I apologize for that." Klaus grinned at this, realizing now that having Kol back in New Orleans was not such a bad idea.

Klaus approached Gwen, whose head was wobbling from alcohol and blood loss, and kneeled next to her. "Cat?" he asked and Gwen turned to look at Klaus, smiling as he touched her cheek with a small smile of his own. "You all right?"

"I don't feel good," said Gwen, something between a mumble and a slur.

"Kol." Klaus decided to intervene and walked closer to Kol, coming to a stop between his brother and his former ward. "I advise you take Gwen home and look after her. I'll deal with this." Klaus tried to show Kol that he needed to follow his lead, if his plan was not to fail, even though every cell of his entire being told him to rip apart the vampire that dared to harm Gwen. "You have my word, brother."

"As you wish, brother," Kol said mockingly, releasing Diego from his hold, but he was not yet satisfied to leave. "One more thing." He grasped Diego's chin and the back of his head before breaking his neck. He then approached Marcel, smirking. "Your little dogs try anything on my girl in the slightest bit and I will paint your room with their blood. Hope I'm being clear."

Kol approached Gwen and his sister before kneeling down in front of Gwen and placing a hand on her cheek. "She needs blood to heal faster," said Rebekah, to which Kol nodded.

He pushed away a few locks of her hair to reveal her still smiling face, to which he smiled in return, still finding her so beautiful, even with blood sticking to her neck and parts of her face. "Ready to go home, darling?" he asked softly.

"Yes, please," she giggled as she reached her arms up, signaling him to carry her, which he did. He hoisted her into his arms and began making his way towards the mansion with an already sleeping Gwen in his arms and Rebekah following behind him.

Marcel and Thierry watched Kol and Rebekah leave with relieved looks on both of their faces before Klaus approached them. "My poor brother is infatuated," he explained to the two vampires. Marcel turned to face him, uncertain of what had just transpired. "You know him like I do, Marcel, so I suggest you do as he says. After returning from death, he has not changed his ways."

With that being said, Klaus left Marcel and Thierry to deal with Diego. As he left the alley, following Kol and Rebekah, Klaus felt such a fury within him at the sight of Gwen being hurt that he would have torn Diego's heart out in a more isolated place after having tortured him. Gwen was precious to him and he would be damned if he let anyone else cause her any harm. But he was comforted by the thought of taking Marcel's crown sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **That is the end of the chapter! I'd really appreciate reviews, Faves or Follows to push me to at least find some time to update another chapter. You guys are also my guide into what I will do with the story, which has happened. So far, I have changed how I'd end the First Season of The Originals on multiple times. You guys inspire me, so thank you.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

 **See ya later!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys! I have finally finished this semester and have the time to write, which is what I'll be concentrating on to be able to finish my stoeis and update them faster. Now, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I want to thank you guys for the reviews and Faves and Follows, since they help motivate me greatly.**

 **Well, remember that I own nothing of The Originals, except for the obvious things. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

One of the rooms in the mansion was dark with the curtains drawn to ward off the light of the sun in the early morning. The room was also deathly silent with very small streams of light streaming through the gaps that the dark curtains couldn't block as the only source of light. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the shallow breaths that the body under the covers took evenly in slumber.

At the doorway, Kol stood with his arms crossed and closed the door of the room behind him as he approached the bed. He sighed as he stood at the end of the bed, his arms at his sides now as he stared at the light blonde hair that peeked out from under the covers, which was where Gwen was sleeping deeply with a mind too exhausted after the previous night's happenings. He sighed as he walked over to the side of the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pulled back the sheets to reveal Gwen's sleeping face with her mouth slightly open as she rested on her side facing Kol. He lifted a hand and began to pull away the stray hairs from Gwen's face and placed his hand on her cheek once he finished.

Kol had not found sleep during the night, not after what happened and his body _ached_ for having the heart of the vampire that attacked Gwen in his hands. He was furious and it took everything he had in him to go through Klaus to hunt down the vampire, but Klaus had threatened him once more with a dagger and Kol could not afford to push his brother's buttons with Gwen to look after. But, what haunted him most was what Gwen had muttered when he was putting her to bed, which was what prevented him from finding sleep.

* * *

 _Rebekah was quick to open the front door of the mansion for her brother and friend. Hayley came into the room not long after she heard the door open and stared at Kol coming through the entrance with Gwen curled in his arms. Klaus entered after his siblings and closed the front door behind him, a frown set on his face._

" _What happened to her?" Hayley gasped as she stared at Gwen, who was curled up in Kol's arms with a bleeding neck._

" _Not now, Hayley," Klaus said as he glanced at her._

" _Take her to bed," Rebekah told Kol, who nodded and began to ascend the stairs, but his sister yelled one more thing after him. "I'll get some blood and bring it up." And she disappeared around the corner to fetch some human blood for Gwen._

 _Kol hurried up at the steps, his mind blocking everything around him as he kept his attention on Gwen, ignoring Klaus explaining what happened to Hayley and everything else. He opened the door to his room with a shove of his shoulder and walked over to the bed. He was careful and gently placed Gwen on one side of the bed. Once he was sure she was fine and turned on the lamp on the nightstand, he went to the bathroom, found a small towel and placed it under the faucet to wet it. Satisfied with how wet it was, he returned to the room and sat at the edge of the bed._

" _Oh, darling, what am I to do with you?" Kol sighed as he began to dab the wet towel on the left side of Gwen's neck. She stirred under his touch and her bleary eyes fluttered open, dashing around the room before they settled on Kol, to whom she smiled at. Kol smiled down at her as he continued to dab the wet towel on the wound that was healing too slow for his liking. "Hello, love."_

 _Gwen giggled, to which Kol grinned, loving the sound. "I love it when you call me tha'." She hiccupped and her voice continued to slur her words. "And it's differen' from when you say it to other stupid people."_

" _Of course," Kol whispered, not wanting to awaken a headache that was most likely beginning to awaken. "You are my Darling Gwen."_

 _Gwen shook her head, causing Kol to frown in confusion at her not agreeing. "No," she chuckled as Kol pulled his hand away from her wound with the towel still in hand after having cleaned as best as he could. "You don't love me anymore."_

 _Kol's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would you think that?"_

" _You haven' touched me or spent time with me alone since Paris," Gwen yawned as her eyes began to flutter closed, even when she was clearly trying to fight of sleep. "It's fined, I still love you."_

 _Kol felt like he had been slapped to the face at Gwen's words. His mouth opened to retort, but he found he could not, for Gwen hold truth. He had been neglecting her and keeping her at a distance, but only because he thought he was doing good by her by giving them some distance after him almost drinking her dry. And yet, he now found that his idea was stupid and pointless, considering they went through this before; however, when she was a ghost, Kol worried less than with her now being alive. Still, it was no excuse to doubt her and distance himself from her to the point that she thought he no longer loved her._

" _No going to sleep, Weny," Rebekah urged as she entered the room with a cup full of human blood she got from a blood bag that she also heated up. Klaus stood at the doorway, leaning against it as he looked on. Kol stood up after having propped up Gwen against the pillows and allowed Rebekah to sit next to Gwen, who was dozing off. "After drinking this, you can sleep this night off."_

" _You're so pretty," Gwen said as she smiled at Rebekah, who helped her with bringing the cup to Gwen's lips for a sip._

" _Thank you, love," said Rebekah, grinning as she helped Gwen drink the blood slowly, so Gwen wouldn't puke it back out, but Gwen was drinking it eagerly. "There you go," Rebekah encouraged as Gwen grabbed the mug and downed the blood in one gulp, having not drank any blood all day._

" _Thanks, Bex, you wonderful example of a sentient being," Gwen said as she handed back the mug to Rebekah, who grinned in amusement along with her brothers at Gwen's words._

 _The three Original vampires watched as Gwen's wound began to heal faster than before. The three vampires released a relieved sigh, whereas Gwen simply reclined back against the pillows, completely exhausted after the events that occurred. Gwen's eyes began to drop. With one last deep breath, Gwen was swept off into slumber._

" _She needs to drink more blood daily," Klaus said as he pushed himself off the doorway. "Unlike us, she can't hunt for her food, but I can arrange to always have blood bags at her disposal." He locked eyes with his younger brother. "Make sure she drinks more blood." His eyes then locked on Rebekah's as she still sat on the edge of the bed. "You, I will handle later, but be warned that you are to not do that again, especially with how incapable you both are to look after yourselves."_

" _We only wanted to have some fun, Nik," Rebekah argued with a roll of her eyes. "We were stressed and wanted to let off some steam, we both needed it."_

 _Klaus scoffed and, before he left, said, "Well, no more of that in the near future."_

" _Grumpy as ever," Rebekah sighed and turned her eyes to the sleeping Gwen, smiling at her as she pushed away blonde hair from Gwen's face. "You're also pretty," she whispered and stood up to leave, but was halted by Kol grasping his sister's wrist in a vice grip and a glare directed to his sister._

" _You are to never put her in danger again, Bekah," Kol warned her, and Rebekah was actually quite frightened by the deep glare Kol had on her. "I won't lose her."_

 _Rebekah nodded, looking calm at her brother and understanding his attitude, considering that Gwen is the first woman Kol has ever loved so deeply and she doubted that it would ever change. She saw the love she craved herself reflected in Kol's eyes whenever he looked at Gwen and vice versa. Her damaged and broken brother had finally found someone to help him heal and put his broken pieces back together. She was envious of him, but she was also happy for both him and Gwen._

" _You won't lose her." Rebekah grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her wrist, feeling quite crossed with her brother. "Still, I'd be a better boyfriend and not let her think that you hate her. We're not the most amicable people with opportunities to find a happy ending." She went to leave the room, but glanced at him over her shoulder just as she was about to leave completely. "She loves you, Kol, don't ever let that go."_

 _Kol sighed as he stared at Gwen with his sister's words ringing in his ears, but Gwen's earlier words were what continued to echo in his mind._

* * *

 _You don't love me anymore._

It actually hurt to hear those words. Kol's mind was a whirlwind and he felt like he actually wanted to dagger himself, but he knew he had to make this right. Besides, once Gwen was back on her feet, he needed to even the score with a certain Marcel Gerard and his vampire lackey that dared to sink his teeth into Gwen. The mere memory of it burned his veins alive furiously, his hands twitching to rip out the vampire's heart of his chest.

"Penny for your thoughts," Gwen's voice pulled Kol out of his raging thoughts. He turned his attention on Gwen and smirked at her, while she smiled up at him with the sheets tucked under her arms.

Kol leaned back and was now resting on his side facing Gwen, even with the little space he had near the edge of the bed. "I need to apologize, my darling," he said as he lifted a hand to stroke Gwen's cheeks.

Gwen's eye brows furrowed in confusion and she asked, "Why?"

"After trying to feed from you for the first time since we came back to life, I tried pushing you away," he explained as he continued to stroke Gwen's cheeks. It pained Gwen to see Kol's eyes filled with so much self-loathing. "Even if it was just for a while, I wanted to do something selfless that did not get you killed a second time."

Gwen sighed and grabbed Kol's hand in hers before kissing his knuckles a few times. "Kol," she began and locked eyes with him while placing a hand on his cheek with a smile on her lips. "I love you, but you can be a dork." She chuckled, whereas Kol raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I can only die, if I have my heart cut out or stabbed or eaten, but I can't die through trivial things like you draining me dry of my blood." Kol nodded, understanding that he shouldn't be so paranoid or he'd end up like Klaus. "Besides, you can't say you didn't like it."

Kol huffed out a laugh before sitting up on the bed. "You caught me." His eyes turned serious as they met Gwen's. "I _do_ love you, Gwen."

Gwen's heart swelled at those words that she did not hear often. She could hear Kol saying them through his endearments, especially in 'my love' or 'my Darling Gwen'. She heard them every time he made love to her in every caress, in every look he gives her, in every action. And Gwen could only love him more for it.

"Good," Gwen said as she also sat up and scooted to the other side of the bed that Kol did not occupy and went to stand up, but a dizzy spell caused her groan before her knees buckled. Having seen her swaying, Kol had already wrapped his arms around Gwen before she hit the floor, bringing her upright against his chest, smirking. "Thanks."

"Anything for you, love," he whispered as Gwen rubbed her temple, willing the dizziness away. He placed a hand on Gwen's cheek, while the other remained around her waist. "Well, now for a proper morning greeting." Gwen smiled before Kol met her lips with his for a few minutes before they pulled away. "And now we get some food into your body."

"I am starving," Gwen said before she made her way out of the room.

* * *

"I cannot believe you disposed of those vampires without me," Rebekah argued with a pout on her lips before turning away from the window that gave her a view of the bonfire made out of corpses to stare at Klaus, who was leaning on the doorway of the room he, Rebekah, Kol and Gwen were in. "You know how I love to set things on fire."

"Take the fun for yourself, why don't you," Kol huffed before taking a seat next to Gwen on a sofa as she ate different cereals she had to mix with milk, since all of them had small portions.

"Eating," Gwen said after having gulped down a spoon of cereal and milk, enjoying the mix of flavors.

Klaus chuckled with his arms crossed over his chest. "Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot for another day or two?" Klaus sighed. "Besides, they were my responsibility. They attacked the helpless, pregnant girl who's carrying my child."

Rebekah clicked her tongue and tilted her head to the side, smiling at Klaus mockingly. "Oh, we are so moved by your newfound sense of fatherly duty towards the werewolf carrying your hybrid bun in her oven." Klaus chuckled.

"She was attacked?" I asked as I looked up to Klaus.

"It's been dealt with," said Klaus.

"What about the dead man walking that attacked Gwen?" Kol asked. "I want his head on a pike."

"You will have your chance at retribution, brother," Klaus said, knowing Kol had not forgotten the vampire that had bitten Gwen. "Just not yet."

Hayley entered the room, hugging a relatively large book to her chest with the first letter of the Originals' last name engraved on the cover. "The werewolf would like to know what the plan is."

"There's a plan?" asked Gwen.

"Should we even include the werewolf in family affairs?" asked Kol, to whom Hayley glared at.

"Nik is hell-bent on taking back the city of New Orleans from Marcel through whatever means necessary and he seems to need all the help he can get to fight Marcel and his army of vampires without much fuss," Rebekah explained to Gwen.

"Since when have we done things without much fuss?" Kol taunted, smirking.

"Ignore all of the Adams Family lot," Klaus told Hayley, smirking. "And it depends what plan you mean, luv—my plan for global domination or Rebekah's plan to find true love in a cruel, cruel world."

Rebekah hummed as she gave Klaus a fake smile. In lightning speed, she grabbed a pen in her hands and had thrown it directly at Klaus' face, but the older of the siblings merely swung an arm up to grab it. Klaus only smirked at Rebekah, satisfied with having pushed her buttons.

"I'm with Nik," Kol said with a raised arm before draping it over the back of Gwen's shoulders, the latter having finished eating her breakfast.

Gwen raised her arm. "Bekah."

"Thank you," said Rebekah.

"The plan to rescue Elijah," Hayley clarified. "You know, the good brother, the one who is now in the possession of your mortal enemy after you stabbed him in the back."

"In the front, if we're being specific," Klaus said, as if his comment would loosen up the tension in the room.

"Sorry, Bex," Gwen told Rebekah, who frowned in return. "I'm switching to Hayley's team for now until we get Elijah back."

"Seriously?" Rebekah said, outraged.

"You two said that you would get him back," she said as she pointed at Klaus then at Rebekah, "which is why you called the power couple"—she pointed at Gwen and Kol—"for help. So is there a plan, or what?"

Klaus sighed. "Ok." He took a seat on a chair that was adjacent to where Gwen and Kol were sitting. "Well, firstly, Marcel is not my mortal enemy. He's my friend."

"Hey!" said Gwen, not willing to share the title of Klaus' best friend.

"Albeit not my _best_ friend," Klaus corrected as he waved around the pen Rebekah threw at him while he spoke. "And he is a friend who is unaware that I am trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, but a friend nonetheless, and secondly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust."

"What master plan doesn't fall apart that endangers your siblings in the process?" Gwen asked sarcastically, to which Klaus rolled his eyes at.

"If I had known he would place my brother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenage witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently," Klaus explained himself, not that Gwen was satisfied with that excuse. "Thirdly, we have my maniac of a brother in town, which is a person that Marcel fears and with my dearest friend back from the dead with the magic of a two thousand-year-old witch at her disposal." Klaus then motioned for Rebekah to explain to Hayley the rest. "And fourthly, sister, please."

"And fourthly," Rebekah began as she turned to face Hayley, "the plan, as you have demanded, is for Niklaus to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back."

Hayley frowned before looking at Klaus, who shrugged his shoulders. "That's not the whole plan, is it?"

"Oh, please," Rebekah snickered.

"Nothing is ever simple in this family, she-wolf," said Kol.

"I learned that the hard way," said Gwen.

"Klaus may be a miserable excuse for a sibling, but there is none more diabolical," Rebekah added to her earlier statement.

"That's only the plan 'A', luv," said Klaus. "There's always a plan 'B'."

Hayley sighed, not really wanting to know the answer to her question, but she found that she needed to be ready for anything when it came to the Originals. "And what's plan 'B'?"

Klaus smirked. "War."

* * *

"Darling, I think it's best that you rest for a while," Kol insisted for the umpteenth time, not that Gwen would listen to him at all. Ever since Klaus and Rebekah left to do their business, Kol was stuck babysitting the pregnant Hayley, but he figured out a way to spend the time and not go mad by teaching Gwen a few things about fighting. Both of them were wearing clothes adequate for exercising. "We've done cardio and worked on your core, so I think it's best to spring up some lemonade and relax." He smirked. "Among other things."

Gwen shook her head with her hands on her hips and taking deep breaths as she and Kol stood on the backyard of the mansion after having done some exercises. "You said you'd teach me how to fight so I can tell vampires and other things that go bump in the night where to bite it." She took one deep breath, taking them steadily as Kol had instructed her. "This sweating thing…I did not miss," Gwen complained as she glared at Kol, who was almost not sweating at all and enjoying himself. "I'm supernatural, how come I have to sweat?"

"Well, first, you have to learn about yourself and what you're capable of," Kol began to explain as he stood in front of Gwen with his arms crossed over his chest. "An example is that you are more durable than a human, so that makes you at least stronger and faster than one."

"Okay, but what about vampires?" Gwen asked, enthusiastic and ready to learn, given that her body was yet to be tired.

Kol smirked. "That we'll have to know after we have a round."

Gwen jerked her head backwards, not knowing what Kol exactly meant by that but having an idea. "Wait," she began, pointing a finger at her chest before she pointed it at him. "I have to fight you?"

"Not now," Kol began and was about to continue.

"Let's do it," Gwen said, standing up straighter as she smiled at Kol. "Teach me how to fight."

"We did core exercises for about an hour and ran for like seven miles without stopping," Kol explained. He did not want to push Gwen too much, especially after her ordeal the night before, since she was still recovering. Kol did notice that she looked better and her senses were sharper the more blood she consumed and she was consuming more than before, which was once a day. "Are you sure you want to keep going?" He smirked. "I won't go easy on you."

Gwen smirked in return. "I'm good."

"Right." He nodded as he approached her, and Gwen noticed his arms falling to his sides, but also noticed that his posture was not a flirty one. "First things first..." Unexpectedly, he threw a punch at Gwen's face that she dodged with a yelp escaping her mouth. Kol nodded at this in satisfaction at her reflexes. "Good reflexes."

Gwen was not amused as she stared at Kol with wide eyes in disbelief at what Kol had almost done. "Did you just try to punch me in the face?"

"There will never be a right or wrong answer to that question, so I'd rather not answer it," Kol said, dodging the question that would definitely have a huge impact on his and Gwen's relationship, should he answer the question.

Kol would have never thrown a punch like that at Gwen without having proof that she would have dodged it in time, but he knew that it came with a consequence by the way she was glaring at him. Yes, he could have been wrong, but he needed to be sure that Gwen was not a mere mortal witch. She had only proved to him that she was more supernatural than human. She moved slower than a vampire, but that was expected. She was only a witch with slightly enhanced abilities and senses, and a lot of power under her skin.

He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, deciding to simply change the topic of conversation. "Why don't I just teach how to throw a proper punch that will actually hurt the other person?"

Gwen gave him a mocking gesture of her face, to which he narrowed his eyes at playfully. He approached Gwen and stood behind her before placing his hands on her waist. His fingers dug lightly into the skin of her waist, while she felt the heat of his front almost touching her back. It was actually distracting both her and him, especially since they still have not had the time to be intimate with one another. Gwen could not believe that she was actually sexually frustrated, but she was not about to admit that to Kol and somehow boost his ego. Unbeknownst to her, Kol was actually feeling the same. He was yearning to make reverence to her body and make her fall apart by his hands, not that she was far behind when doing the same with him, she just lacked the experience that Kol absolutely enjoyed.

"All right," Kol said, his lips next to her ear that sent a pleasant shiver down Gwen's back. "The first thing you need to know is that when you make a fist"—he brought her hands up to be eye level with her eyes and balled them up, making sure each finger was in the right place—"your thumb must always be on the outside of your fist. If your thumb is ever on the inside, you will break your thumb."

"Good to know," Gwen said as she kept her fists up and in the correct way that Kol just showed her. "What's next?"

"Now, to generate force into your hit, you must use your hips," he instructed her as he stepped from behind her and was now standing right in front of her. "Punch me."

Gwen frowned with wide eyes and her arms fell on her sides. "What?"

"Oh, don't pretend you haven't ever wanted to," Kol said as he stood straight and motioned Gwen to do as he told her to. "Come on, darling; throw me your best hook."

"I am not going to punch you," said Gwen.

"I hate your music," Kol said and too fast for him to have seen coming, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder that he actually felt. "Ow," he whined as he clutched his left shoulder with his right hand. "Well, aren't you vindictive?"

"Never talk bad about my music," Gwen warned Kol with her index finger pointed at him, trying to seem scolding, but Kol could only find it cute.

"I know, I know," Kol chuckled. He zoomed at her with his hands on her shoulders, pushing her against a tree in the backyard, but was careful to not cause her harm. He grinned at the surprised look on her face, but hers changed into a mischievous grin. She only needed Kol to release his hold on her shoulders and for him to lean closer to her. "You need to be ready to counter a surprise attack, darling. I can't have you defenseless."

Gwen chuckled. "So the overprotective Kol wants me to be able to protect myself." She hummed as she looked up at Kol, who still had his hands on her shoulders. "Didn't see that coming."

"I can't always be there to protect you, love," he sighed, his eyes earnest and determined and released his hold on her shoulders to place them on her waist. In all honesty, Kol only wanted was for Gwen to be able to handle herself. She was more fragile now than when she was a ghost, since she could not rely on the fact that she was not as easy to harm as she was now. "I need you to be safe and to handle yourself."

"As you wish," Gwen replied with a smirk before managing to catch Kol off guard by dropping him to the ground on his back by tripping him with her foot. She jumped on him and straddled his waist while holding his hands by his wrists over his head. Kol was amazed with her speed, which was superior to that of a human's. "Got you," Gwen giggled, her braided hair dangling over her shoulder. "I think I am getting the hang of this."

"It's only been one day," Kol argued as he stared up at Gwen with smirk, enjoying the position they were in. "Besides," he began and turned them over, his body on top of Gwen's as he held her hands over her head, "I've got a thousand years over you."

"Details," she said, smiling.

To Kol, she looked perfect lying underneath him with her sparkling jade-green eyes looking into his in pure joy and he wanted to keep them that way. He _felt happy_ to have someone looking at him the way she was looking at him now. This was what he had only ever wanted in his life, to have someone by his side, someone that would choose him. Kol was pulled into her and he was happy to comply with the need to place his lips on hers. A happy sigh escaped him as the dance of their lips continued, both of them having missed these moments, even if it was not too long ago that they made love to one another.

* * *

Hayley walked closer to one of the windows that had a view to the backyard when she heard laughter coming from outside the mansion. She had a steaming cup of tea nestled in her hands, but lifted one of them to push away the curtains the blocked her view of the backyard. She sighed when she saw Gwen and Kol enjoying one another while sitting on the ground, both smiling at one another. Hayley would be lying if she said that she was not jealous of what the Original vampire had with the young immortal witch, because she was envious of what they had that seemed impossible for her to ever have with the current situation she found herself in.

"Staring, are we?" Klaus asked as he smirked at the startled Hayley after having had a long morning torturing a vampire that was essential for his plan to work. He approached Hayley and stared out the window, humming when he saw what she was staring at. "Ah, there's my little brother having his sessions with my sweet Gwen."

"Were you and Gwen ever…" Hayley's question drifted off as she stared at Klaus, who turned his attention away from Gwen and Kol to stare at Hayley with a raised eyebrow. "It's just that you two seem close."

"She's another version of Rebekah," Klaus explained. "Gwen is just a nicer sister that I don't have to look after."

"Because you can't kill the man she loves?" Hayley asked, earning a glare from Klaus.

Klaus huffed. "No, because she's never needed my guidance and because she's smart enough to make good choices, even though I've had to dispose of previous suitors with no future to provide her with." They both turned their gazes to Gwen and Kol when they heard a shriek, but it was only Kol hoisting Gwen over his shoulder. "Do not be fooled by my brother's calm nature at the moment. He will remain calm as long as Gwen is around him, but he is still dangerous and wicked, which does not do good with being combined with his unpredictability that not even I can outwit."

"He's dangerous and living under this roof with us," Hayley sighed and took a sip of her tea.

Klaus frowned and turned to Hayley. "Do not overstep your boundaries, Little Wolf," Klaus said in a voice too calm and collected for her liking, especially with his glaring eyes boring into hers. "Kol is and will always be my family, and that includes his sadistic nature that only Gwen can handle."

"Is that why you're not so worried about what he might do?" Hayley asked with eyebrows furrowed when a thought entered her mind, while Klaus grinned. "You know he will defy you at every turn, but you know that Gwen will keep him in check."

"They are a perfect match," Klaus said, avoiding answering the question that he did not feel like answering. "Gwen balances Kol's erratic mood swings and calms his temper, something that no one else has ever been able to do." He sighed as he clapped his hands. "Now, time for lunch."

Klaus grinned at Hayley with a nod of his head before stepping away from her and out of the room, leaving the werewolf that was carrying his child on her own. Hayley, on the other hand, returned her gaze to Gwen, who was back to practicing with Kol. The hint of a smile appeared on her lips as she placed a hand on her stomach that would soon be fuller with her child inside.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and continue to enjoy! I also hope I am not disappointing you guys and I am grateful for the love you guys have shown so far in this series. So, I want you guys to tell me what you think so far about the story, your thoughts about the series and what you guys hope that I'll be doing in future chapters.**

 **Okay, so review, Fave or Follow!**

 **See ya later!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello, Fanfictioners! I'm back and I plan to stick it this time. I had a Writer's Block, but what author doesn't get one every once in a while. Also there were other stories that needed drafting, and I apologize for having taken so long to update. I am happy that you guys stuck with me and I plan to deliver. I just need more inspiration and support to keep going, 'cause I found the spark that I needed to keep going for you guys!**

 **As always, I own nothing that belongs to The Originals, except for what is mine.**

 **I hope you enjoy, and it's so good to be back!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

"Are they in there?" Gwen asked Hayley, who lingered outside of closed doors, pacing impatiently outside.

After having spent her morning training with Kol and the latter having had a shower, Gwen was fresh out of the shower herself to rid herself of her sheet of sweat that she planned to avoid ever having again at all costs. Gwen's hair was still wet and smelling of macadamia oil, the scent of her shampoo and conditioner that she complimented with some protein of the same scent. Having discarded her dirty clothes she wore while exercising, she now wore denim cutoffs and a short-sleeved white tee with a classic stripped pattern. She paired her outfit with olive-colored pair of leather booties with a stacked heel, subtle platform, and buckled straps wrapped around the ankle. Her necklace was secured around her neck.

Hayley turned to Gwen as she nervously kept her hands busy with one another. "Yeah, Sophie needs a little more convincing and she's making it difficult."

"Who's Sophie?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow, not having a clue of who Sophie was.

"The psycho witch who bound her life to mine and my baby," Hayley explained, feeling bitter towards the witch that would willingly kill her and her own baby. "She's the reason I can't leave New Orleans, she made the deal with your boyfriend's family and has no problem with offing herself while taking me and my baby along with her."

Gwen hummed as she nodded her head and was about to go into the room, but stopped and turned to Hayley. "You know you can trust me." Hayley was not convinced, which Gwen noticed. "Okay, you can trust me with anything, but I will rip you apart if you harm my family, who are doing everything they can to help you and your baby."

"Got it," Hayley sighed as she crossed her arms over her abdomen, a habit that's been growing on her. "Thanks."

"No need," Gwen replied, her eyes glancing to the werewolf's stomach, where Klaus' baby was. "I just need you to be safe and as comfortable as possible." With a nod from Hayley, Gwen went to open the door where the three Originals were with the witch.

"Are you out of your mind?" Gwen heard the frantic voice of Sophie vibrated through the room as the young witch stared at the three Originals that had their eyes narrowed on her, causing the witch to become uncomfortable. "No way."

Gwen entered the room and caused all eyes turned to look to her as Gwen closed the door behind her. Klaus and Rebekah were on their feet, while Kol sat on one of two chairs that were on the other side of a coffee table and Sophia was sitting on a small sofa on the opposite side of the coffee table.

"Hello, Gwen," Klaus greeted her with a grin on his lips. "I am so glad you are here to join us." Klaus turned to Sophie. "Sophie, may I introduce you to my dear friend and little brother's suitor, Gwen Pierson, who happens to be a witch herself."

"Hi," Gwen greeted Sophie with a small smile as she kept her arms behind her. She turned her eyes to the three exasperated Originals. "You guys look tense."

"Tell me about it," said Rebekah. "It's been a long morning."

"The witch isn't cooperating," Kol explained from where he sat on the armchair with Klaus standing behind him. His arms were resting on the armrests with the ankle of a leg resting on the knee of his other leg. "I think she needs motivation."

"It's very simple," Rebekah said as she approached Sophie menacingly and the tone of her voice leaving Sophie with any choice in the matter. "We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locator spell to help us find our brother."

"Witches who practice magic in this town get caught," Sophie explained, feeling she had said the same words one too many times, and she could not emphasize any further to make her point understandable. "And they get killed."

"Yes," Klaus sighed as he grasped the back of the armchair that Kol was sitting on, while Gwen approached Kol and sat on the armrest with Kol's hand resting on her waist. Rebekah was now sitting on the other armchair that was next to Kol's with her legs crossed. "About that, it seems to left out a crucial detail when we made our deal—Marcel's secret weapon, the way he knows when a witch is using magic."

"Girl about yay high," Rebekah explained as she lifted her hand to show Sophie the approximate height of the girl she was describing, "cute as a button, anger issues."

"Marcel's weapon is a girl?" Gwen asked, turning to look down at Kol, grinning. "Called it."

Kol grinned up at Gwen. "Yes, you did."

Sophie's eyes widened in her shock, having a feeling that Rebekah was describing a girl she remembered. "Davina?" She stared at Klaus, needing to know more about Davina and her whereabouts. "Where have you seen her?"

"I don't know," Rebekah sighed. "The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody mind." Kol snorted at this, imagining his sister being thrown out of a window by a child. Rebekah glared at Kol. "Shut up, it could've happened to you."

"Doubtful, sister," Kol replied. "I am smarter than you."

"Knock it off," Gwen scolded them, both Kol and Rebekah closing their mouths and kept their witty retorts to themselves.

"Let me cut to the chase," Klaus said after having rolled his eyes at his siblings' bickering and focused his eyes on Sophie. "Davina has Elijah. You witches, I assume, want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. Ergo, we need magic."

"Why don't I do the dumb locator spell and be done with the argument?" Gwen suggested to Klaus.

Klaus sighed. "Marcel knows about you and that you're here."

"Thanks to yours truly," Rebekah said as she gave Klaus a mocking smile.

"He'd suspect you immediately, so I need you to be at the right place at the wrong time," Klaus explained. He needed Gwen to be out of Marcel's radar. He admitted that it was foolish of him to mention her to Marcel, but he needed to adapt to the situation.

"Davina would sense any magic," Sophie argued.

"Kol," Klaus said as he grinned at his little brother. "Your input would be much helpful."

"We can have another witch, say, a traitor to the cause do us the solid," Kol began to explain as he pulled Gwen on his lap, eliciting a small shriek from her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Katie, for example," Rebekah said, supplying the witch they would use.

"Right," said Kol. "Well, she could perform much more powerful magic, while dear Sophie performs our much needed locator spell."

"Katie would be creating a smokescreen," Rebekah explained as she kept her eyes locked with Sophie's, "that will conceal your very small spell from Davina."

Sophie shook her head, unable to find it in her to condemn one of her own. "Katie doesn't deserve to die."

Frustrated, Klaus zoomed in front of Sophie, who stared up at him with wide eyes, wary of what Klaus would do to her by the look on his face. "Sophie Deveraux, you're in no position to be so principled." Klaus sat on the edge of the coffee table to be able to be right in front of Sophie. "You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, known something they shouldn't? Your sister," he spoke while pointing an index finger at Sophie, "executed in the public square for practicing magic—who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?"

"She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi," Sophie explained, her face squared without letting show any emotion concerning her sister's death.

"And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?" asked Klaus.

"Katie's boyfriend, Thierry," answered Sophie.

* * *

"Charity event?" Kol asked as he slowly paced the study where Klaus was sorting some papers that looked dated, but Kol was not interested in any of that. "Normally, it's us who host such events with everyone giving us reverence and tribute with the promise to not eat the people who are prompted to do our every whim."

"Where's Gwen?" Klaus asked as he sorted through the many papers on the desk, ignoring Kol's rant about the charity they would be attending later in the night. "Does she have a dress for tonight?"

"She went with Rebekah to find Marcel's distraction, but they said they'd shop for dresses," Kol said and checked the time on the watch he wore on his wrist. "Of course, that was over four hours ago." The younger of the brothers sat on a chair adjacent to where Klaus was sitting. "They might as well be gone all night long."

At that moment, Klaus' cell phone buzzed. Checking who was calling him first, Klaus answered the call and placed it on speaker to be able to keep sorting the papers. "Little sister," Klaus greeted.

" _Well, brother, I believe I've made certain Marcel will be properly distracted tonight,_ " Rebekah informed, but she yelped when she received a shove from Gwen, causing Klaus and Kol to frown at the cell phone. " _I rephrase, both Gwen and I have made certain of it._ "

"Dare we ask?" Kol asked.

" _Let's just say his attention will not be on us,_ " Rebekah said, not going into detail about who will keep Marcel distracted throughout the night. " _We've done our bit. What are you two doing to ensure Elijah's safe return?_ "

"Always with a hint of doubt, little sister," Kol said, exchanging smirks with Klaus.

Now it was Gwen who answered. " _With good reason._ "

"Quite offended, Cat," said Klaus. "Currently, I'm preparing insurance against the tender-hearted."

" _Meaning?_ " Both Gwen's and Rebekah's voice asked through the phone.

"We need proper motivation for Katie to cast a powerful spell tonight," Klaus explained and licked the top of an envelope to seal it. "I'm creating that motivation, since Kol has already provided knowledge on the witchcraft of this whole operation with no further input."

Kol grinned. "Let's talk payment and I'll talk labor. Besides, I did the compulsion and torturing bit."

"Marcel has ordered a rousting of the witches," Klaus explained when he noticed it was silent on Gwen and Rebekah's end of the line. "I, in turn, have arranged for things to go tragically wrong." Klaus and Kol smirked at one another, both remembering that they had earlier released one of Marcel's men, but compelled to complete a certain task that will provide the green light for their plan's execution. "Marcel may not be concerned with Thierry's romantic entanglements, but there are other crimes which he'll be less inclined to so easily forgive."

"Killing a fellow vampire, for example," Kol supplied with a roll of his eyes. "His rules really take the fun out of everything."

"That would be unforgiveable," Klaus continued. "If Katie hopes to save her one true love from Marcel's punishment, well, a rescue mission like that would require something positively magical, but then what's worth dying for if not love?"

" _Aren't you a happy sadist?_ " Gwen's voice piped in.

Klaus grinned. "You could say that."

* * *

"Kol, stop it," Gwen giggled as Kol continued to kiss and nip her neck from behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. They had stepped out of the car that Klaus had called to pick them up at the mansion to drive them to the masquerade gala that Marcel was hosting in his home, which belonged to the Originals. People walked past them as Klaus and Rebekah stepped out of the car behind them. "We're in public and people are beginning to stare."

"Let them stare and know who you belong to," Kol whispered against her ear, to which she giggled as she hugged his arms that were around her waist.

"Please, refrain from any form of PDA," Rebekah grumbled as she stood next to them with an eyebrow raised, unimpressed by how affectionate Kol was with Gwen, but she knew better. Kol appeared to be docile, but he was a devil at heart. "It's enough that I have to endure this at home."

"Sorry, Bex," Gwen said honestly as she stepped out of Kol's arms and stood by his side, hugging his arm.

Kol snorted. "I'm not."

"Enough," Klaus warned as he stared at his two siblings and best friend. He truly did not envy Elijah being the oldest to be responsible with the care of his younger siblings. "Let us try to enjoy the night." He extended his arm for Gwen to grab. "Shall we?" he asked, and Gwen gave him a small curtsy.

"We shall," Gwen said and looped her arm around Klaus', leaving Kol and Rebekah to do the same a few steps behind them.

The company of three Originals and one witch began to make their entrance, loud music drifting out of the building as people walked in. All three Originals were dressed in black. Klaus and Kol were dressed alike, having little time to go into detail on their outfits for the night. Their clothing was all black with no other color to go with but other shades of black. They both carried their black masks in their free hands that they did not have looped with their companions.

Rebekah was dressed in a long black dress, which was strapless and had a belt around her middle with a small black bow at the front. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate style with black feathers in it and her mask gripped in her hands. She had make-up on of the same colors of her clothing and black heels to go with her dress that hugged her in the right places and showed off her silhouette. Rebekah's only accessories being a big jeweled necklace the same color of her dress and her daylight ring.

While the Originals were wearing dark colors, Gwen decided to dress livelier, which Rebekah helped out on. Gwen's dress was strapless with a sweetheart shape and jeweled stones at the bodice. The full length skirt had a soft flared shape with sheer overlay and a slit on her left side. The bodice was nude with crystal jewels and the skirt was an icy blue. Her hair was pinned with heavier waves over her right shoulder with make-up on and nude heels. Her necklace and some bracelets were her only accessories. Her filigree mask was gold adorned with crystals.

"Cool," Gwen mumbled as she looked up at the confetti falling from above.

The place was packed with people and vampires all over the place in masquerade outfits of different types. While Klaus, Kol and Rebekah were unamused, Gwen was fascinated by the party and the atmosphere. The entertainment was captivating, which were people aerial dancing or doing some other type of dancing on top of pedestals. It was fascinating and the place was lighted by dimmed blue light with decorations adorning all over the area.

"Well, this certainly is a fitting backdrop for tonight's events, I must say," said Klaus, coming to a stop with Kol and Rebekah standing next to him and Gwen, all of them looking around the place.

Suddenly, the four pair of eyes fell on the figure of Camille entering the masquerade party in a beautiful angel themed dress. Rebekah grinned at the human blonde that had made it to the party. Klaus could not feel pleased with Camille being present tonight, especially tonight. She was an unnecessary figure that had no business being present. Of course, Klaus would never admit that he felt concerned about her well-being and found no reason for her to be present. The look on Klaus' face did not go unnoticed by Gwen, who grinned to herself with intentions of going back to it later on.

Klaus released Gwen and turned to Rebekah, allowing Kol to stand by Gwen. "What's she doing here?" Klaus asked his sister.

"Who's she?" Kol asked Gwen.

Gwen smiled at Kol. "Tell you later."

"What better way to distract Marcel than to put his very human, new girl in a room chock full of vampires?" Rebekah asked rhetorically and grinned before leaving to greet Camille, her brothers and Gwen following at a slower pace. "Hello, darling," Rebekah greeted Camille with a soft smile. "You look precious." Of course, Camille's entrance did not go unnoticed by Marcel, who stood on the balcony of the second floor.

"This party is ridiculous," Camille said, chuckling. Her every move was being watched by Marcel. "But, I think I could get to enjoy this place."

Gwen left Klaus and Kol to greet Camille. "Hello, Camille."

"Hey, you look stunning," Camille greeted with a kind smile, which Gwen returned.

"And you look beautiful," Gwen replied.

Camille's eyes then drifted to Klaus and Kol, but they lingered on Klaus far longer. "Are one of those two the infamous on-again, off-again?"

Klaus and Kol chuckled as they approached the three ladies, Kol wrapping an arm around Gwen's waist to pull her flush against his side. "We're the brothers, actually."

"And boyfriend," Gwen supplied as she motioned to Kol.

"And my sister is right," Klaus said, his eyes piercing through Camille's. "You do look stunning."

Camille grinned, feeling her cheeks flush at the compliment. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

"Well, don't be fooled, luv," Klaus retorted while grinning, lifting his mask to his chest to show it to Camille. "I'm the devil in disguise."

Gwen and Kol glanced at one another. Kol wore an amused frown, while Gwen grinned as they watched Klaus and Camille flirt with each other. While Kol was amused by this, Gwen could not help but feel that it was an opportunity for Klaus to find a real kind-hearted girl. She just had to make sure that Camille did not die.

"You four chitchat," Rebekah piped up, feeling too much like a third—in this case, fifth—wheel. "I need booze." And with that, she left.

"Shall we?" Klaus asked Camille, offering her his elbow.

"Okay," Camille answered and grabbed Klaus' elbow, both of them leaving Gwen and Kol on their own.

"Kol Mikaelson," Marcel's voice called as he approached Kol and Gwen with a fake winning smile, to which Kol grinned in return, but Gwen saw it was more threatening than friendly. "It's nice of you to join, not that I ever sent you an invitation."

"He's my plus one," Gwen spoke up, catching Marcel's attention. "Besides, he gets so bored when alone and that's dangerous enough."

Marcel grinned at Gwen, not sure what to think of the blonde woman in Kol's arm. "You must be the famous Gwen Pierson that Klaus has spoken so much about." He cleared his throat as he nodded at Gwen. "I gotta extend an apology for my friend, Diego."

"You mean the vampire that almost tore my throat apart?" Gwen asked, wanting to fuel up Kol's anger, which worked by how tense he became. Marcel's grin fell into a straight line. "Yes, all is forgiven."

"We'll have to catch up some time." Marcel's eyes drifted to Rebekah's lone figure at the bar. "Excuse me."

Before Marcel could leave their presence, he was stopped by a bone-crushing grip on his arm and Marcel turned his attention to Kol, who simply continued to stare forward. "I'm not Klaus, Marcel." Kol sighed and turned to face Marcel. "Any other stunt like your friend made will only instigate a much more drastic stunt from me." Kol's hardened gaze made Marcel almost lose his composure. Even Marcel, in all his cockiness and success in New Orleans, had to recognize that Kol was a force to be reckoned with when truly threatened and Marcel knew this by experience. "I will burn everything you've built and turn it into nothing." Kol released Marcel and turned to Gwen, his demeanor changing completely. He grinned as he extended a hand to her. "Care for a dance?"

"An invitation to dance with a handsome fellow," She hummed, pretending to think about it as Marcel made himself scarce. She grinned up at Kol's playfully narrowed eyes. "How can I resist?" She placed a hand in Kol's, being pulled into his chest with an arm wrapped around her waist.

"Wrong, my darling," Kol whispered and leaned close to Gwen's ear, smirking at the feel of a shiver going down Gwen's spine. "How can _I_ resist _you_?"

* * *

"I can understand why Klaus is brooding," Gwen said with an arm wrapped around Kol's neck, while Kol had one arm around her waist and the other holding Gwen's free hand close to his shoulder. They were both wearing their masks. She stared at Klaus and Rebekah standing on the sidelines, both watching Marcel and Camille dancing a few feet from where Kol and Gwen were dancing. "Why is Rebekah glaring daggers at them?"

"My darling sister has a rather complicated and romanticized history with Marcel Gerard," Kol explained as he continued to sway them from side to side, making sure to create friction between their bodies, which Gwen noticed. "It's easy to notice it did not end well, but they still feel something for one another."

"Thank God," Gwen said in relief with a frown on her face, causing Kol to stop their swaying to look to where Gwen was staring at. He almost growled the moment he saw Diego, who approached Marcel and Camille, interrupting their moment together. "They were about to kiss."

"And why would that be such a tragedy?" he asked Gwen rhetorically as they, along with Klaus stared. Rebekah decided it was time for her to leave, leaving her family to watch Marcel leave Camille to go with Diego. Klaus, Kol, Gwen and Camille watched Marcel walk towards Thierry before he slammed him against the concrete wall, only to be calmed by Diego to not make a scene. "Trouble in paradise, it seems."

They watched Marcel, Thierry, Diego and some other people—who were most likely vampires and followers of Marcel—ascend the stairs to handle their situation away from prying eyes. To keep their charade, Kol pulled Gwen to his chest once more to continue to sway to the music, but Gwen's curious eyes remained on the second floor, watching Marcel.

"What are they saying?" Gwen asked Kol, both of her arms wrapped around his neck with her chin on his shoulder, whereas he kept his hands on her waist.

"Good time for practice," he whispered near her ear, having been vigilant of what was being said on the second floor. "Focus on them and only on them. Block everything that doesn't have to do with them and only them. Listen to what you want to hear, not what's around you." He breathed into her ear as Gwen focused only on Marcel. "Focus."

" _Damn it, T._ " Gwen chuckled as she heard Marcel's voice, happy with her victory. " _How long we been friends, seventy years?_ "

"I can hear them," she whispered.

" _Yeah,_ " she heard Thierry answer.

" _I turned you into something that would never die,_ " Gwen heard Marcel say, the disappointment evident in his tone of voice. " _I gave you a gift._ "

"So much drama," Kol sighed.

Gwen's eyes trailed from Marcel to where Camille still stood, staring up at Marcel with caution in her eyes with no surprised whatsoever at what she was seeing. She also watched Klaus approach Camille, attempting at some small talk, but Camille had already made up her mind to leave the party and not be sucked into whatever and whoever Marcel was. She already had experience with violent men; she was not going to go through it again. She frowned when she watched Klaus give a vampire named Josh a parchment, who then went to deliver it to Marcel.

She pulled away from Kol and approached Klaus before asking, "What are you up to?"

Klaus grinned at her as Kol now stood behind her. "Just waiting for the fireworks to commence."

The three of them turned their heads upwards just as Marcel said, "For the crime of murdering one of his own, I sentence Thierry Vanchure to one-hundred years in the Garden."

Klaus exchanged a smirk with Kol. "And it begins."

Their eyes followed Thierry and Marcel as they walked out of the building with some other vampires trailing behind them, none too happy with what Thierry had done. Marcel himself had a storm raging within him, having not wanted to ever deliver Thierry with such a punishment, but it was better than death and it served to send out a message to others who would dare break his rules.

Klaus, Kol and Gwen left the dancefloor to situate themselves near a window to be able to have a clear view of what was about to happen after seeing Marcel walk out with a group of his vampires and Thierry out a backdoor of the building. Their eyes followed to where the vampires had turned their attention to, finding Katie approaching the vampires with determination set in her eyes. Gwen gasped when she felt a pressure in her chest that told her of the surge of power that emanated from Katie and placed a hand on her chest to grasp her necklace.

"Like clockwork," said Klaus.

Gwen yelped when she watched Katie bring down all of the vampires with a mere wave of her hand, causing sparks to fly from a lamppost in the street. Other vampires that had not been much affected by the first hit tried to reach Katie, but were brought down to the floor as well when Katie waved her hand once more. They were all holding their heads, screaming in pain on the floor. Marcel managed to stand on his feet, hitting his chest with his fists to show strength with teeth bared, but Katie had him on his knees once more.

"Someone's helping him," Gwen muttered as she watched Marcel and few vampires stand, as if they were being aided by an invisible force that matched Katie's power. This invisible force had not gone unnoticed by Gwen as her chest tightened when sensing some other source of power. Kol and Klaus turned their eyes to Gwen. "I can feel someone else's magic."

"Who?" Klaus asked.

Gwen shook her head and they returned to watch Marcel attempt to charge at Katie. Katie managed to put Marcel on the floor before raising a stake high above her head with the intention to drop it right into Marcel's undead heart. With a gust on Gwen's cheek, Klaus was on the street with his hands on Katie's neck before breaking it. Gwen sighed in relief when the pressure on her chest left her as Katie's dead body dropped on the ground with a saddened Thierry cradling it in his arms, while Marcel stared at Klaus in gratitude.

"That concludes tonight's slice of drama," Kol murmured before leading Gwen away from the window to return to the mansion.

* * *

Gwen smiled at herself through the mirror of the vanity that was in her and Kol's room, having heard something rather special from downstairs. "It's going to be a girl," she said, still in her dress as she took off her make-up and jewelry, being especially careful with her personal necklace.

"Did you say something?" Kol asked as he came out of the bathroom in only his pants and buttoned-up shirt that was open, revealing his chest and abdomen.

"Hayley found out the baby is a girl," she repeated as she placed her earrings on a jewelry box that Klaus provided for her, among other items that were essential for her needs.

Kol sighed with his hands in the pockets of his pants. "Aren't I too young to be an uncle?"

"No," Gwen chuckled and stood up, happy to be on her bare feet and free of her heels that had been slowly killing her feet. "Technically, you're too old to be an uncle."

"You're mean," he said and slowly approached her. He kept his eyes locked with hers, not once looking away. He smirked when he heard the erratic beating of her heart, relishing in it and never finding reason to be tired of the sound.

"Is it so unnatural for a witch and a vampire to be together?" Gwen asked with Kol standing right in front of her, their eyes never straying from one another. "I mean, I know they are enemies according to nature, but still."

Kol placed a hand on Gwen's cheek, stroking her cheekbone as he leaned close to her lips, barely brushing hers with his. "We're the exception."

"For how long?" she asked as her stomach did flips that had her almost dropping on her knees the moment Kol's other hand went to her hair to pull her closer to his body.

Her stomach was flipping and her chest tightened in anticipation as she licked her lips, which were parted in her excitement. Her hands grasped Kol's elbows, needing to find an anchor to not be reduced to jelly when Kol hadn't even done much to begin with.

His nose bumped against hers as his lips were now only a hair away from her. "Always and forever."

Gwen was the first one to lean in, molding her lips against Kol's. The moment their lips touched, they both felt they were set on fire after having been less intimate in the past few days, which was now turning their need for one another passionate and with much want for one another. Gwen's hands surrounded Kol's neck in an embrace to pull herself to his height, her lips parting Kol's every once in a while, but only for air that she needed. Kol was quick in his response by slipping a hand into the slit of her skirt to trail it up her thigh and cup her bottom. He did the same with his other hand, but over the fabric of her skirt and lifted her to have her legs wrap around his abdomen before pinning her against one of the posts of their king-sized canopy bed.

While Kol trailed his lips to Gwen's neck, Gwen made quick work of ridding Kol of his shirt to drag her hands across his skin, resulting in Gwen ripping Kol's shirt off in her haste. She felt Kol smirk against her bare shoulder. "I liked that shirt."

"I'll buy you another one," she managed to say before a moan left her lips, causing Kol to growl against her skin; her moans and pleasure usually brought out a growl from Kol.

Kol placed her on the floor, eager to meet her lips, and it was easier to access her dress. He had her on her back on the bed before covering her body with his in a blur. Gwen's mind was filled with too much pleasurable bliss to care about whatever Kol had planned. She barely registered Kol hoisting her legs over his shoulders, which only resulted in gasps, pants and moans escaping her lips. The noises she made did wonders for Kol as he made quick work, which elicited a pleasurable scream from her. He crawled over her once more to have her taste his mouth and she eagerly responded, her whole body throbbing with need.

Knowing he was distracted, Gwen turned them over to straddle him without parting her lips from his. She was about to return the favor, but Kol had pushed himself to a sitting position with Gwen still straddling him and her hands buried in his hair. The innocence in her eyes mesmerized him and he knew she had bewitched him with those jade-green eyes of hers.

"Not tonight," he whispered while smirking, pecking her lips as his hands grasped parts of her dress, pulling her close to him. "Tonight, I want to have my way with you." And with that, he ripped her dress off, leaving her in her underwear.

"I liked that dress," she said, returning his smirk.

He laughed. "I'll buy you another one."

Gwen smiled earnestly as she cupped Kol's face in her hands. She sighed happily as she placed her forehead against his with her eyes closed, feeling his hands skim her back in slow movements. Kol's eyes remained open, staring at Gwen and marking each and every line of her face to later get acquainted with her body once more.

"I love you," she whispered as her eyes opened.

He smiled an honest and happy smile. "As I love you."

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed to write it! There will be more where that came from, I just hope you guys have been patient enough with me. I really want some feedback and your thoughts about where I'll be taking this story from here on out. Remember to review your thoughts, Fave your love and Follow your like.**

 **I you enjoyed!**

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	9. Chapter 8

**New chapter that I hope you guys enjoy! I'm glad you guys have stuck with me through it all and have been so patient while waiting for the chapters to be published.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

"Kol," Gwen murmured as she poked Kol's cheek with her index finger, but found that she was not successful, so she poked once more and with more force. Her forceful poke caused Kol's nose to scrunch up, to which Gwen giggled. "Kol, wake up. I'm hungry."

Kol groaned and lifted an arm to place over his eyes. "Have Bekah make you some breakfast." Then, a thought came to him when he noticed the lack of light that was supposed to stream into the room at the hour that he and Gwen normally woke up to. He removed his arm from his eyes and hoisted himself up on his elbows to grab his phone from the nightstand on his side of the bed, only to find that it was six o'clock in the morning. "Darling, it's too early."

"Oh, come on," Gwen huffed as she sat up on the bed, holding the sheet close to her bare body to ward off the chill in the room. She rolled her eyes playfully when she noticed Kol waking up more when as his eyes travelled along Gwen's body, which brought a blush to Gwen's fair cheeks. "We get up at eight." She then remembered her sore joints and bruises that covered her neck, hips, inner thighs and wrists. "Besides, it's your fault I can barely move."

At first, her words did not register in Kol's mind. His eyes were too focused on her milky shoulders that sported dark spots that he himself had placed on her skin mere hours earlier after having returned home from Marcel's masquerade-themed party. His eyes took in the little bruises he left, the body he sated, and he was happy to do so again. He could already feel his body reacting to his lover's body and the need she invoked within him. He found that it was truly worth waking up a few hours earlier than usual, not that he would tell her that. Feeling eyes on him, he turned his eyes upwards from staring at Gwen's cleavage to see her grinning down at him knowingly.

Shaking his head, Kol sat up and leaned against the headboard right next to Gwen with the sheet covering from his waist and downwards. "Yes, but I heard no complaints from you." He grabbed her knee and slid her down from her sitting position, eliciting a sound between a shriek and a giggle from her as he hovered over her with his elbows near her head. "I actually heard you scream my name a lot. How did it go again?" He grinned at her, while she giggled up at him. "'Oh, Kol, don't stop, don't stop. Please, Kol. God, please, don't stop, Kol!'"

"Kol!" Gwen said, horrified halfheartedly as she slapped his arm playfully.

He chuckled before he cleared his throat, deciding to end this fast and try to seduce her into going for another row, which she was aware of. "Would you settle for some cereal with milk?"

"I need something much bloodier than milk," Gwen said, sharing a grin with him before he huffed out a laugh and left the bed to fetch her some blood from the kitchen.

After Kol put on some pants, he leaned into her to peck her lips twice and left the room. Gwen sighed as she rested against her pillows while staring up at the ceiling. She smiled to herself, happy that no drama has yet to put a damper on her and Kol's relationship, but she could not help but feel that there was yet another shoe to drop and shatter the bubble that she and Kol had surrounded themselves in. She turned her eyes to the window and bolted upright in bed with a gasp, but the figure was gone in a blink of an eye. She panted as she looked around the room, searching for the figure of the one _Elijah Mikaelson_ that had been there not a second ago.

* * *

"I told you, Agnes, I feel great," Hayley said, having answered the same questions a number of times in one morning and it was becoming tedious, her attention partially on the book in her hands. The only reason her temper remained calm was for the two blondes that were in the room with her and Agnes. It was enough pressure on the old witch with an Original vampire and an Immortal witch breathing down her neck.

"You are overdue for a checkup," argued Agnes, to which Gwen rolled her eyes at from her place next to Hayley on the couch of the living room.

"I thought checkups were at least once a month," Gwen said as she grinned at the other witch. "I could not imagine a reason to have another checkup so out of the blue, especially since the mother does not feel anything wrong with her."

Agnes frowned at Gwen. "I don't recall you mentioning you were a nurse."

"I didn't," said Gwen, her grin still in place. She could not help but feel doubt about the witch's intentions with Hayley and she did not want to risk anything. Both Kol and Klaus were not present, so it fell onto her and Rebekah to not 'muck things up', as Klaus had so eloquently established. "Still, these are things that even a lowlife knows; I think it is called logic."

"Okay, what am I gonna do, pop into the Quarter for a quick ultrasound?" Hayley asked sarcastically as she tried to diffuse the tension between Gwen and Agnes. Although she knew Gwen's intentions were true, she had no reason to distrust Agnes so soon. "A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch? Nothing to see here."

"A lot of women would kill to have a child," Rebekah snapped from the other side of the room, her back to Gwen, Hayley and Agnes as she tapped away on a laptop. She felt irritated, especially with how careless Hayley was being. "Strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"I know a doctor out in the bayou off the beaten path," said Agnes. "Now I took the liberty of making an appointment for you tonight after hours." She glanced at Gwen before looking at Hayley pointedly. "Just us. Vampires will never get a word of it."

"I'll go," Gwen said and shared a glance with Hayley, receiving a grateful nod from the werewolf.

"It's not necessary for you to come along," Agnes argued. "No offense, but our coven is very strict, even with our own kind."

"Gwen tags along and I go to the bayou baby doctor," said Hayley, but Agnes was still on the fence about it. "Either Gwen comes or one very temperamental Original."

"I suggest you accept, dear Agnes," Rebekah said with a threatening tone in her voice. "The last thing we want is for you to meet a tragic end."

Gwen waited for Hayley and Agnes to leave the room before she stood up and approached Rebekah. She had not mentioned the fact that she saw Elijah to anyone, fearing she had just seen an illusion, but Elijah's appearance begged to differ. His skin had been gray and old, as if he had a dagger in his chest but he lacked one. The protruded veins were absent from his skin and Gwen felt it was more than a simple apparition. Gwen sat next to Rebekah on another chair, and she peeked into what Rebekah was searching for in the internet.

"Bex, I have something to tell you," Gwen said as she watched Rebekah search relentlessly for attics and such. Rebekah hummed without taking her eyes away from her computer and continued to click on the buttons feverishly, and it was annoying Gwen to some degree. "You see, I had this weird vision last night about El—"

Gwen was interrupted by Klaus' arrival. "Please, sister, tell me you're not still at it with the internet search." He walked towards a table to pour himself some scotch. "How does one begin anyway, just type in 'anonymous attic'?"

"The supposed attic where Elijah is being held hostage, right?" asked Gwen, crossing her arms over her chest as she peered over Rebekah's shoulder to watch the enhanced image of an area of New Orleans.

"Someone has to find Elijah, even if I have to search every bloody attic in New Orleans," Rebekah snapped at Klaus, her eyes trained on her laptop.

Klaus turned to Rebekah with a glass of scotch in hand and said, "Like looking for a needle in a rather large pile of needles." And he sipped at his scotch.

"I remember details about the attic Marcel took me to," Rebekah sighed. "There were shutters on the windows behind Elijah's coffin."

"Well, that should narrow it down immensely," Klaus said as he took a seat on the armchair that stood opposite to Rebekah's place on the sofa. "Myself, I prefer actual strategy as opposed to mind-numbing labor." Rebekah and Gwen glanced at Klaus, neither looking impressed with the blond hybrid's words.

Gwen glared at Klaus' lack of empathy or even support in the search of his brother. "You're not helping, which is even more infuriating since it is your mess."

Klaus rolled his eyes at Gwen's comment. "Marcel's delay in returning our brother makes me suspect he's no longer in charge of the situation," he explained. "If Davina's loyalty to Marcel is strained, perhaps the young witch will be open to discussing a new alliance."

Rebekah scoffed. "A usual, your power grabs are more important than rescuing your brother.

Klaus shrugged. "I prefer to think of it as killing two birds with one stone—rob Marcel of his secret weapon, bring our brother home."

Rebekah huffed before snapping the laptop shut and standing up to her full height while glaring at Klaus. "Fine, do your magic tricks, but I know it'll fail in the end."

"Here's to hoping," Klaus said as he raised his glass to Rebekah before taking a gulp of scotch.

Rebekah scoffed and went to grab Gwen's wrist before pulling the blonde witch along with her. "I'm taking Gwen and you bloody well stay away to allow us some much needed girl time away from your exuberant ego," she yelled in the annoying tone that she knew that bothered her siblings, to which Klaus rolled his eyes at. She pulled Gwen with her to the back of the mansion where the pool was. "I need a favor, Weny."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at Rebekah inquiringly. "What kind of favor, I'm already babysitting the werewolf?"

"A simple locator spell," Rebekah whispered to not let Klaus hear them. At Gwen's silence and crossing of her arms over her chest, Rebekah said, "I am desperate and worried for my brother. I have no one to back me up. Klaus being Klaus trusts me with no plans of his and I certainly don't. Hayley is pregnant and forbidden to go into the city without bringing harm to her child being the reckless pup that she is. You're babysitting her, and that leaves Kol, but it will be some time before we are on good terms." She sighed heavily. "Please, Weny."

Before Rebekah knew it, Gwen's lips grew into a grin. "I like you begging for my help." Rebekah huffed with a smile on her lips. "I'll do the spell, but I have to wait for Klaus to leave and I hope it's before Hayley and I have to go to the bayou."

"Actually," Rebekah began as an idea popped in her mind, "I have a better idea." Gwen nodded for her to go on. "You stay with me and help me find Elijah."

"What about Hayley?" Gwen asked. "I have to take her to that doctor that can somehow survive out in the bayou with all the alligators."

"Ask Kol to do it," said Rebekah. "He knows better than to let anything happen to the girl." She smirked. "With some persuasion on your part, of course." She frowned. "I can't believe I just told you to seduce my brother; I feel a bit sick."

"Yeah, it was really, really weird that you're pimping out your brother to his girlfriend," Gwen said with a wide smile, feeling too amused at the moment.

Rebekah shook her head. "Where is he, by the way?"

Gwen sighed as she remembered his vague answer when she had asked him where he was going. "He said he was taking a trip down memory lane."

"Sounds like him," said Rebekah. "Give him a call and tell him to get his arse back here."

Gwen nodded. "I'll call him." Rebekah nodded and headed inside the mansion as Gwen took her phone out of the pocket of her jeans. She looked down and tapped on the screen a few times to dial Kol's number. She put the phone to her ear and waited for Kol to answer, hoping he did.

* * *

Kol Mikaelson walked around the Lafayette Cemetery, inspecting the grounds and waiting for the perfect moment for it to be less populated. The last thing he needed was a run-in with a witch that would know who he was, which would invoke a confrontation. The confrontation would only make Klaus throw a tantrum, but with Rebekah hiding the daggers he was not afraid of the probability of his older brother using the dagger on him. He did, however, fear the anger and scolding that Gwen would give him for being reckless. It amused him how cautious he was of her, considering she was a good eight inches shorter than him, which was why it was so easy to tuck her under his chin. Still, he'd rather return unscathed than to face the wrath of the pixie that was his girlfriend.

He now stood at the entrance of the cemetery, watching a family of three leave the grounds; the mother, father and child all dressed in black with no tears in their eyes. They were probably visiting someone on the anniversary of their death. He turned to look at the entrance, knowing that no vampire was welcome inside the sacred burial ground which was located in the Garden District of the Quarter. He smirked and stepped inside the grounds, having already been invited in decades ago before Klaus had daggered him in 1914, but Sophie having granted him invitation just in case. The memory turning his mood sour, but he shook his head as he walked inside the cemetery. He was familiar with the place, having undergone very small changes throughout the years. If memory served him right, turning one more corner would lead him to a personal safe house of his that only he knew of, except for the few that did know but were dead. The safe house was located in a tomb that belonged to the Gatreaux family. He attempted to open it, even though he knew what would happen, but groaned when his hand met an invisible wall.

"Good for you, Miss Claire," he almost growled as he stared at the entrance of what used to be his 'Playhouse'. He placed his hands on his hips as his mind tried to solve this obstacle. "I can only imagine what would break this silly little spell of yours." His eyes narrowed. "Either your death, which is not the case, or a descendant of yours." He smirked. "You were always so predictable, Mary-Alice Claire." Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing and he rummaged through the pockets of his jacket and took his phone out to see who was calling him. His lips curved into a smile at his phone's screen, which was a photo of Gwen taking a picture of her smiling widely next to a sleeping Kol on the sofa of their home in Paris. Above the picture it read 'Darling', which was the name he gave to Gwen in his contact's list. "There's my girl." He slid his finger across the screen and answered the call before placing the phone his ear. "Hello, my darling. Missing me already?"

Gwen chuckled from the other end of the line. " _Well, you are in some rather inappropriate thoughts of mine._ "

He knew she was smirking on the other end of the line. "Hmm, I knew my pants were too tight for a reason." He gave his safe house one last look before walking away to leave. "Anything you need of me that may not require me ravishing you on a surface?"

" _Yes, but we'll get to that other thing in a mo,_ " she said, to which Kol frowned, feeling the coming of a favor; not that he would not do anything for her. " _I need a favor._ "

 _There it was_ , Kol thought to himself with a grin on his lips.

"A favor, you say?" he asked, feigning his cluelessness.

" _Yes, and trust me that the reward will be great,_ " she said, and this actually got Kol's full attention. He hummed, urging her to make her proposal. " _If you accept to do this favor for little old me, I will treat you to dinner, some wine and blood, and I will book a night at the Hotel Monteleone._ "

The seductive tone of her voice made everything she had just said sound too pleasurable for Kol, especially when he was out in public, which meant he had to get home fast. Still, he couldn't help himself from asking. "A-And," he cleared his throat, "w-why would we need to book a night at a hotel?"

" _Well,_ " she chuckled, and Kol knew he would be a goner with her next words, " _I'll be wearing that red babydoll lingerie you loved so much._ "

"The lace one?" he asked with a gulp and found a lamp post to lean against.

" _Bien sûr,_ " she hummed in answer. " _That is why we need the room at the hotel, because I'd rather not bite my tongue to not wake up everyone else._ " She smirked. " _Or you, for that matter._ "

"You're killing me, my darling," he sighed heavily.

" _Je connais,_ " she cooed, knowing Kol's weaknesses and she was getting better at getting him to do things with proposals of her own that would also benefit her in the end. It did wonders for her the fact that he melted when hearing her speak French. " _I just need you to do me one simple favor._ "

"Anything," he sighed as he pushed himself off the lamp post to continue walking after having gathered his wits.

" _Remember that I love you very much and that you're the most handsome man I have ever seen,_ " she said, and Kol heard the plea in her voice. _"I need you to watch over Hayley tonight and take her for a checkup._ " and that was when Kol realized that he had a _very_ important choice to make. Kol could refuse and have Gwen be cross with him with no option for a night filled with pleasure and bliss. But he could also choose to do this one favor where he would only have to spend a short amount of time with the werewolf carrying his niece or nephew and have Gwen all to himself with no fear of being interrupted, disturbing anyone or any other unpleasant scenario. He could do anything else, but watching over Hayley was something that had too many complications, especially since he didn't know the girl and he'd rather keep it that way.

Kol let out a sigh with a groan, knowing the answer before he could protest against it.

* * *

"Are you going to tell me where you disappeared to?" Gwen asked Kol and joined him at the front porch of the mansion to see him off with Hayley. "I know curiosity killed the cat, but I can't help myself."

Kol chuckled and tapped is index finger near his ear. "I'll tell you when there are no ears listening."

"Deal," said Gwen and then presented Lilwen's grimoire to him. He took the hard covered book and shifted through the pages in search of the spell that Gwen needed. He handed her the grimoire back on a certain page.

"Try this spell," Kol said as he pointed at a particularly hard spell in Lilwen's grimoire that Gwen had open in her hands. He certainly wasn't thrilled about being left out of a scheme to babysit Hayley, but he had no choice with Gwen's bargain. He thought himself to be a fool if he didn't accept. "It's a bit tricky, but it'll get the job done." He gave her and encouraging grin. "I know you can do it, just remember my teachings and focus on your center. Concentrate on what gives you strength."

"Okay," Gwen said as she marked the page before hugging the book to her chest. She looked up and locked eyes with Kol. "Be safe." She glanced at Hayley where she sat in the passenger seat of Agnes' car, both of them waiting for Kol. Agnes had not been at all happy with the change of babysitter, but a threat from Rebekah had immediately changed her mind. Still, it did not mean she was too happy about it. "I can't have you doing too much trouble without me there to pull you out of it." She grinned up at Kol.

He grinned as he pushed a strand of Gwen's hair behind her ear, causing her cheeks to flush. " _You_ be careful," he reiterated. "Besides, I can already imagine the trouble we'll be getting to when I come to collect what you owe me."

"I'm not the one with a dirty mind," she whispered as she stood on the tip of her toes to place her lips on Kol's chastely. She glanced at Agnes before looking back up at Kol. "Watch out for Agnes." Kol nodded as he also glanced at the older witch. "Something doesn't feel right about her."

"Don't worry," he said with a devious smirk on his lips. "I'll start ripping arms off when things get too tense for me."

"Good," she said, and he kissed her forehead.

"Get inside," he told her, and she did before he walked over to the car and left to go to the bayou.

Gwen entered the house, shutting the front door behind her before heading over to the living room where Rebekah was. She entered and sat next to Rebekah on the sofa. She placed her grimoire on the coffee table on the page where the locator spell was on to find where Elijah was being held.

"All right," Rebekah said and placed her hands on her lap after having lighted some candles she had placed on the corners of the coffee table in front of them. "Nik's out and about, very distracted while looking for Marcel's secret weapon. Hayley is somewhat safe in Kol's hands and out in the bayou for her checkup, so that leaves us to do our little mission." She looked at Gwen, who was staring at the spell in the book. "Do you need anything else?"

"I'm good," Gwen said as she removed her necklace from around her neck, hiding it between her palms. "Place your hands on top of mine."

Rebekah frowned but did as she did, encompassing Gwen's hands within her own. "Why am I doing this?"

"You share blood with Elijah, which I need, and to show you what I see," explained Gwen, chanting the spell in her mind to not forget the words. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ready to chant the words out loud. "Vitto Brosche Tarem Car Manifesto Fen!"

Gwen's mind first went to Klaus as he grinned, walking along the street where the Dauphine Street music festival was being held. Gwen manipulated the target she was searching for and it then shifted to Kol sitting at the backseat of Agnes' car as he played Angry Birds on his phone. Gwen shook her head with a small smile on her lips before letting herself be pulled to another target that shared Rebekah's blood. The image in her mind was that of a bedroom inside an attic. The bedroom was filled with paintings; some of them even had faces of people drawn on them. The focus then went to the familiar coffin that belonged to Elijah Mikaelson, but it was closed and hid away the Original that lay inside sleeping. The image then shifted to outside the room, revealing it was above a church. Then, the focus was on the outside of the church, revealing the name. Rebekah gasped, and the link to the location was broken.

"Do you know where we're going?" Gwen asked as she clasped her necklace back around her neck.

Rebekah grinned at Gwen. "I know exactly where we're going."

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed. And remember to Fave, Follow or review. Review me your thoughts of the chapter or your opinions, whatever you like!**

 **Thank you guys for reading!**

 **See ya later!**


	10. Chapter 9

**"Hey, guys! Here is yet another chapter and it's a long one for you all to enjoy. I am so glad that you guys are enjoying the story and am so excited to post the rest of the story. There may not be so much drama just yet, but things will change once we get to the second half of the first season. I only need you guys to stick with me and I hope you guys will enjoy.**

 **Remember, I own nothing of The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

Kol huffed out loud, but was ignored by Hayley and Agnes at the front of the car. The road changed to a bumpy one, considering they were now deep in the bayou, which did not do any wonders for Kol in the backseat. He was not pleased or enjoying himself, so he forced himself to remember that it was all going to be worth it in the end. In all the years he was away from this surrogate home, society had changed but not everything else. The bayou's ecosystem obviously changed with the passing of time, but it still remained the same. Another thing that did not change was that people always had a hidden agenda, especially witches. Kol was still getting his footing in New Orleans and the power that his family had once possessed to use to his benefit, but witches had turned into something far more perplexing than the last time he had been in New Orleans. It unsettled him that he had no knowledge of the witches' activities anymore, and it only meant that he needed to rectify that. But that can wait, now he needed to focus on keeping Hayley safe, because he did admit that Gwen was right about the werewolf carrying his blood; although, he still had mixed feelings about that.

Kol's alarm was raised when they came up to a red cabin that was far from the city. He found it hard to believe that the house belonged to a doctor that specializes on pregnant women, let alone it was performed so far from where one would get instruments and the equipment necessary for any procedure.

Hayley frowned at the house they approached with a frown on her features before glancing at Agnes while pointing at the cabin. "This is the doctor's office."

"It's quite creepy," Kol remarked.

"Dr. Paige is only this far out because Marcel's men kept terrorizing her patients," Agnes explained smoothly, to which Kol scoffed at. Agnes gave Kol a glare before turning to Hayley. "Go." She nodded to the cabin. "She won't bite."

"Doesn't mean _I_ won't," Kol sighed and stepped out of the car, opening Hayley's door for her. It was a habit that he knew that would never leave him, which Hayley nodded at gratefully. "Let's get this over with." He closed the car door once Hayley was out and they both began to walk towards the doctor's cabin. "I would have preferred taking you to another less creepy place, but we have to endure the possibility of this turning into a horror movie for a while longer."

"For once," Hayley began and hugged her cardigan close to her body, "I agree with you."

Agnes watched Kol and Hayley walk towards the cabin. Whatever guilt she previously felt was overthrown by a greater sense of responsibility towards her kind. To keep her own safe, she would go above and beyond doing anything. Her coven and the opportunity to get rid of any possible danger towards it were more important than the life that Hayley carried in her womb.

Agnes sighed and placed her phone to her ear after making a call. "Send them in now and do it quickly," she said once her call was picked up. She watched Kol and Hayley enter the cabin. "There's an Original with her, so be cautious." She then ended the call.

* * *

"This place is creepy," Gwen murmured as she and Rebekah stepped inside St. Anne's Church, both of their eyes surveying the mess inside the holy place. "It's a miracle we didn't burnt he moment we stepped inside this place."

"This place is rumored to be damned," said Rebekah. "I find it not so surprising."

"Who is this fellow?" Gwen asked as she and Rebekah stood side by side, staring at the man cleaning up the sanctuary some feet away from them. "Is that the Father Kieran?"

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at Gwen. "You know his name?"

"Researched that the place was practically abandoned after a murder or something," Gwen explained with a shrug. "It's a thing I have to know everything."

Rebekah exhaled with a smile on her lips. "As always."

Kieran was tall and dark. He looked weary and spent with eyes that told that they had seen too much in their lifetime. His brown hair was short and unkempt. And the green of his eyes was dimmed by lack of light or happiness in his life. Gwen sensed all of this as she stared at the man, and she was aware that it had to do with what had happened in the church, but that was a mystery for another time.

Sensing their presence, the man turned and glanced at the two blonde women at the end of the nave before turning his gaze back to his busy hands. "Church is closed." He sighed as he placed items in their respective place on the sanctuary. "You want your horror fix, go take a ghost tour."

"I don't much care for ghosts," said Rebekah.

"Speak for yourself," Gwen mumbled as the image of a daggered Elijah returned to the front of her mind. The apparition of the morning was still fresh in her mind.

"We are, however, fascinated by window shutters," Gwen said as she and Rebekah approached the man standing tall at the sanctuary. "They're our new hobby at the moment, and we're really interesting in a specific set of shutters."

"Had it not been for my dear friend," Rebekah said as she pointed to Gwen, "we would've been running mad around town looking for the perfect ones." They both came to a stop a few feet away from the man. "I noticed the windows of your attic have shutters."

He only frowned and approached the two blondes. "Are you really interested in shutters?" he asked as he picked up a bible form the floor with a sigh escaping his lips.

"I can assure you it's our current life obsession," Rebekah said with no seriousness to her words. She shared a glance with Gwen. "We normally share obsessions, my friend and I, and we naturally have to put them to rest before we blow up with anxiety."

"You _are_ Father Kieran, aren't you?" Gwen asked to be certain that he was the man responsible for the church.

"Yes, and you are?" he asked as he placed the bible on the pew next to them before crossing his arms over his chest.

Rebekah smirked. "Mildly curious." She then glanced where the scent of blood came from and found spots of blood on the walls. "What happened here?"

Kieran also sighed as he glanced at the blood. "St. Anne's used to be the heart of the neighborhood. It's been abandoned for a while now since the night of the massacre. Nine seminary students were killed by one of their own."

"And the man took his life after what he did," Gwen said and finished the story.

"You're both standing on blood," said Father Kieran.

Rebekah shrugged. "We're not squeamish."

"Where's the attic?" asked Gwen.

"Like I said, the church is closed," Father Kieran answered, holding his ground.

Rebekah approached the Father, who placed his arms at his side, not knowing what Rebekah might do. He was good at reading people, and the look he was being given was not a friendly one. His heart was beating fast and he knew what was about to happen. From the moment they stepped inside the church, he knew that neither of the girls in front of him was human. Though they appeared to be so, he had much experience singling out the supernatural.

Rebekah made eye contact with him and repeated Gwen's question. " **Where is the attic?** "

Father Kieran held his breath and remained, letting Rebekah believe the compulsion had control of him. "Past the sacristy up the stairs."

"Thank you." Rebekah smiled. "Now forget we were here."

Gwen and Rebekah followed Father Kieran's directions, and they came to be in front of a door. Rebekah pushed it open to reveal a rather small and cozy bedroom with a canopy bed and paintings all around the room.

"I knew it," whispered Rebekah, but Gwen caught what she said.

"Well, at least we can prove to Nik you're not insane," Gwen jested, which resulted in Rebekah glaring at her playfully. Rebekah went to enter the room, but was stopped by an invisible force that she knew that was the barrier that required her to be invited in. "You need invitation, while I do not."

"How do you get to be immortal and not have a single flaw because of it?" Rebekah whined with a pout on her lips.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the Original. "I have to drink blood just as much as you do for the rest of my immortal life, getting my neck broken is a royal pain in my behind, and don't even get me started on the doppelgänger thing." Rebekah smirked, and Gwen wondered what was so amusing to her. "What?"

"You rarely say vulgar words," said Rebekah, but Gwen only huffed. "What?" Rebekah chuckled. "It's true, and I swear I see you flinch whenever you do."

"Let's focus, please," Gwen said and stopped the conversation before they got too caught up in it.

Gwen entered the room with no problem, but she did feel the magic that was on the room. Having too much power can cause the person to leave an essence of powerful magic. Gwen warily entered the room, her eyes immediately falling on the open coffin placed on a corner of the room. Gwen walked over to him and kneeled next to his coffin before she grasped the dagger that was embedded in his chest. Elijah's eyes snapped open and connected with Gwen's before they connected with Rebekah's.

"Elijah?" Gwen and Rebekah asked at the same time.

He was still and gray, but she noticed his skin was not as grey as it should be with the dagger in his chest. His skin also lacked the many protruded veins that usually adorned an Original's body when they were daggered. Gwen frowned when Elijah's eyes frantically darted around, trying to tell her something, so she released the dagger. She stared at her hand and glanced at Elijah before placing her hand on his forehead. Gwen found it odd how easily she felt Elijah's mind, but she concentrated on the conscience that was awake. Her eyes shined a brighter green than their normal hue as she used her powers.

" _It is good to see you, Miss Gwen,_ " Elijah's voice sounded in her mind in echoes. " _I am glad you are here, so I can only assume Kol is in town as well._ "

"Took some convincing, but we got here," she said and glanced at Rebekah. She frowned at Rebekah's closed eyes and still body. "Rebekah?"

" _She is fine,_ " answered Elijah. " _I am merely conversing with you both. You got my message this morning?_ "

Gwen stared at him, her lips quirking upward in a lopsided smile. "It wasn't a dream."

" _Miss Gwen, I will need you to leave me here,_ " he told her, to which Gwen frowned. " _I have a plan and I'll need to see some common ground with Davina before leaving. I do need a favor from you._ "

"What is it?" Gwen asked him.

" _Look after Hayley and her unborn child,_ " he asked of her. " _I need you to swear that you will._ "

"I swear," Gwen and Rebekah muttered simultaneously as their connection to Elijah broke. Gwen stood and broke skin contact with Elijah, her eyes returning to their normal shade of green.

Gwen approached Rebekah. "Go find Hayley; I'll only hold you back."

"What are you going to do?" Rebekah asked her.

Gwen sighed heavily. "I'm going to find Nik, tell him what we did in little details and hope he won't be too upset."

"Good luck with that," Rebekah said before she disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Gwen exhaled before her head dropped and exited the attic, closing the door to the attic behind her. Now she had to deal with the possible outburst from Klaus. She was not up to one of his tantrums, but she had to face the music sometime. She took her phone out of her pocket and made her way out of the church as she dialed Klaus' phone number.

" _Hello, Cat,_ " Klaus greeted from the other end of the line.

Gwen sighed. "We have a small problem."

* * *

In all of his life as an Original vampire, Kol had witnessed and experienced things that truly amazed him, but he also witnessed and experienced things that were the total opposite of feeling amazed. And yet, he had never had a moment to truly experience this particular moment in his long undead life. He had crossed and uncrossed his arms as he allowed the blonde doctor to check Hayley and the condition of her baby, but he remained glued to a corner in the room and watched the exchange. He was not upset or even annoyed, but he actually felt curious about the whole thing that was happening right in front of him. He once again crossed his arms over his chest as the doctor had asked Hayley to lie down on the medical examining table. He watched the doctor use the Doppler fetal heart monitor to check on the baby's heart rate, which he perfectly heard with his enhanced hearing. The fluttering thumping almost managed to lift the corners of his mouth fully, but he remained squared and focused. But for a moment, instead of Hayley lying on that bed with a smile on her lips, he imagined Gwen with her wide smile and big green eyes. He imagined himself by her side as he and Gwen waited to hear their child's heartbeat. He sighed and shook the image out of his mind, not wanting to torture himself with something he knew he could never have with Gwen or the thought that Gwen could have it, just not with him or any of his kind.

"Your baby's heart rate is perfect," said the doctor with a soft smile on her lips.

Hayley sighed. "I knew it." She glanced at Kol who approached her warily; afraid that he might do something that would wreck any important equipment in the room. "She's a tough one like her mom."

Kol grabbed a towel and handed it to Hayley as she sat up, not paying too much attention to the doctor as she shuffled around the room. "It's a she for sure?"

"Yes," Hayley slowly answered with a raised eyebrow. "I hope so, 'cause I'll need some more girl power."

"I'd prefer a lad," he said and snorted at Hayley's narrowed eyes. "If only to save the girl some grief about the Mikaelson wall every boy will have to scale to get to her."

Hayley groaned. "Let's take this one step at a time."

"That's a unique birthmark," said the doctor with a too kind smile on her lips. Kol frowned and took a peek at the mark behind Hayley's right shoulder, almost hidden under the short-sleeve of her white shirt. Kol immediately recognized the mark, exhaling heavily at the thought of Klaus impregnating not just any werewolf, and he planned to have a very important conversation with his older brother about sharing.

Hayley was not comfortable with the topic, so she simply put on her cardigan and fixed her hair. "We're pretty much done here, right?"

Kol's phone vibrated, alerting him to a message. He fished his phone out of the pocket of his jacket and pouted when he saw his sister's name on top of the message asking him where he and Hayley were. He was honestly hoping it would have been Gwen to calm his nervous nerves after being cooped up in this room with not much to do or even say. Hayley glanced at the message, since he was standing right next to her and grew concerned with Rebekah wanting to know where they were.

"Your blood pressure's a bit high," said the doctor as she stood in front of Hayley. "I've got something for it."

"I think it's time for us to leave," Kol said after the doctor left the room and passed Agnes to fetch whatever it was she was going to give Hayley that did not sit well with him. He answered Rebekah's message and told her exactly where he and Hayley were. "Had your blood pressure been high, the baby's heart rate would have not been perfect."

A wolf's howl was heard from a distance, but Kol's hearing picked up the sound of an approaching car. He and Hayley approached the window in the room and saw a car's headlights. Kol's eyes narrowed towards Agnes and the doctor speaking and he caught them saying something about where they would be taking Hayley. He heard multiple car doors open and close outside as the doctor entered the room.

"Sorry, the baby's daddy is working up a storm, so we best leave," Kol said as he grasped Hayley's upper arm and tugged her with him, but the doctor stood in the way with pills in a cup in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "And I'd prefer to keep pills away from my nephew."

"It's in the mother's and the baby's best interest," the doctor said and went to a counter behind them.

"Close the door and lock it," he whispered to Hayley when a few men dressed in dark clothes entered the house and approached Agnes. While Hayley went to close the door, Kol caught the doctor when she turned around with a syringe in her hand. He gripped her hand wrist until it broke and dropped the syringe, which elicited a scream from her. "You should've known better than to play doctor, doc." He wrapped his hand around her neck before breaking it with a flick of his wrist, dropping the body on the floor with a loud thud.

"Was that necessary?" Hayley asked as the door began to shake from the hits it was receiving from the other side. Kol ignored her and opened a window. "What now?"

"Go," he said and motioned to the window with a nod of his head. "I'll deal with them." He locked eyes with her and pointed at her with his index finger. "You keep running and you don't stop until I come get you, understood?" Hayley nodded and ran for the window, jumping out the moment the door was broken down. He grinned at the warlocks that had rushed into the room. "Hello, mates."

One of the warlocks raised a crossbow and released an arrow that was now embedded in Kol's chest, causing the Original to growl. This momentary distraction allowed some of them to slip out the front door to run after Hayley. Kol growled and threw the arrow back at the warlock, embedding itself in one of their eye sockets with a yell coming out of their mouth.

"I've needed this outlet," Kol said and grinned as he braced himself to face the rest of the witches to then get to Hayley. "Pity that you lot will be the recipients."

* * *

"Nik, why am I watching some boy serenade a very happy girl in a church?" Gwen asked with her arms crossed as she watched the image before her from the second floor of the church with Klaus by her side after having spent some time with Camille in the first floor before sending the young psychologist away. Gwen had heard everything Camille said, and she honestly felt sorry for the human girl, having lost a sibling herself. "And why did I hear you flirting with Camille?"

"That was none of your business," said Klaus, his eyes trained on Davina. "What I am more interested in is the fact that you're here and not with Hayley."

"Bekah asked me for a favor that involved Elijah's return home, Nik," Gwen answered. "Hayley's safe with Kol at the doctor's out in the bayou and Bekah's on her way to pick them up." Her phone vibrated in the back of her jeans, which she took out of her pocket and saw it was Kol calling her. She glanced up at Klaus. "Go make friends with the little witch."

Klaus huffed before making his way to the first floor. Gwen heard Klaus say, "You two are absolutely adorable."

"Kol?" Gwen asked as she picked up the call, ignoring Klaus' speech to turn Davina to his side against Marcel. She heard some struggling grunts from the other line, which only served to worry Gwen. "Kol?"

" _Sorry, darling,_ " Kol grunted as he snapped an arm off of a witch while searching for Hayley in the bayou. " _Things took a turn for the worse after the bayou doc tried to roofie Hayley._ " Gwen opened her mouth to make a protest, but Kol cut her off before she could utter a word. " _I have it under control, but I need you to do me a solid._ "

"What happened, Kol?" Gwen asked, worried for his, Hayley's and the baby's safety.

" _Some witches crashed the party, and I am a hundred percent sure that dear, old Agnes had something to with it,_ " Kol explained and grunted when an arrow pierced his shoulder. " _Bloody hell!_ "

"Kol?" asked Gwen, worry lacing her tone of voice.

" _I'm all right._ " He grunted when he ripped the arrow clean out of his shoulder. " _Hayley's missing. Rebekah and I lost her, so I need a locator spell._ "

The sound of screaming caught Gwen's attention and did not listen to Kol a she continued to explain what had happened. She turned and glanced at Klaus holding the boy that was playing the violin in a chokehold a few feet away from Davina. The young brunette witch had thrusted her arms forward with a scream, sending a powerful wave throughout the church that caused the windows to shatter and knocked everyone off their feet. Gwen groaned on the floor as pain shot up her back, but, aside from that, she was fine. She grunted as she sat up from the floor.

" _Gwen!_ " Kol's frantic voice was heard from her phone next to her. " _Gwen, what happened?_ "

Gwen took the phone to her ear and said, "I'm fine."

" _You were unresponsive for ten minutes,_ " Kol argued.

She took deep breaths to calm her erratic heart. She pressed her free hand to where her head throbbed on the back and retrieved it with blood on her fingers. "Nik pissed off the wrong girl."

"Time to go, Cat," Klaus said as he quickly walk towards her and hoisted her to her feet by the grip he had on her arm. Gwen managed to keep the phone to her ear. Klaus now addressed to Kol. "You better hope she's found by the time we get there, little brother."

"We're on our way," Gwen whispered to Kol before she hung up and allowed Klaus help her out, but she did manage to catch a glimpse of a saddened Davina with a broken violin in her hands.

* * *

"Go," Gwen told Klaus the second he stopped the car in front of the doctor Hayley had gone to in the bayou. The front of the house was littered with the corpses of warlocks, their limbs ripped off or their necks snapped. There was blood at the front and within, Kol having gone on a rampage after Hayley escaped. "I'm right behind you, just go find Hayley."

Klaus frowned at Gwen, noticing how out of breath she was and placed a hand on her neck. "Are you all right, Cat?"

Gwen turned to him and gave him a smile. "I'm fine, just dizzy."

"All right, but don't think we're not going to talk about you and Rebekah's little stunt tonight," he told her in a scolding manner, but he still gave her a grin. He may be upset with Gwen, but he could never be too upset with her.

"Stay here," Klaus said as he stepped out of his car.

"I will not," Gwen protested as she stepped out of the car, but Klaus had already disappeared inside the house in the middle of the bayou. She closed the car door behind her as the voices of Klaus, Kol and Rebekah reached her ears, but she did not pay much attention to their bickering as her still healing head throbbed. She leaned against the side of the car and placed a hand to calm her headache.

"Gwen?" Hayley's voice startled Gwen, causing the latter to whip around and come face-to-face with a bloodied Hayley with her clothes tattered, but she lacked a single wound on her body. "I've been running around the bayou and I honestly have no idea how I even got here."

"Oh, dear," Gwen said as she grabbed Hayley's arm and let her put some of her weight on her. A wolf's howl was heard from a distance, but Gwen ignored it. "Nik!"

Not a second later, Klaus burst out of the house with Kol and Rebekah following him a few feet behind. Rebekah looked haggard from her heart having been shot with an arrow and left on the floor in the bayou. Kol was mostly covered in blood. The blood was on his clothes, skin and hair from having been fighting the armed warlocks with a hole over his heart where he had also been shot with an arrow. The three Originals approached the two women.

"Hayley what happened?" Klaus asked as he approached his closest friend and the mother of his child. "Tell me what happened."

Hayley opened her mouth to answer, but her mind was still blank. "I can't remember."

Klaus placed a hand on Hayley's arm and inspected her body from top head to toe. He frowned when he found not a single wound on Hayley. "You've completely healed." Kol and Rebekah sighed in relief, especially when they head the fluttering heartbeat of their niece or nephew. "There's not a scratch on you."

"One of the perks of being a werewolf, remember?" said Hayley.

"No," Klaus said as he shook his head. "Not that fast."

"Enough, Nik," Gwen said as she helped Hayley to the steps that led to the front porch of the house and helped her sit down.

Kol then realized something as he watched Gwen and Rebekah help Hayley sit down. "It's the baby, the vampire blood, Nik's blood in your system. It can heal any wound."

"Your own child healed you," Rebekah said as she stared at Hayley from where she sat next to Hayley, Gwen standing in front of them with Kol and Klaus behind her. "How did you escape?"

"We were outnumbered, unarmed," Kol said as he tried to remember the recent events. "And there were men ripped to shreds, which was sadly not my doing for once."

Hayley looked up and locked eyes with Klaus. "I think it was the wolf."

"Wolves in the bayou?" Gwen asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I think it's trying to protect me," Hayley said with a nod of her head.

"The witches were supposed to protect you," Klaus growled before he turned to Kol. "You were supposed to protect her." He then turned to Gwen. "You originally were supposed to protect her."

"Well, excuse us for not following your plan that we all know so much about," Gwen said dramatically in her irritation, sarcasm dripping from her tone of voice.

Klaus exhaled. "When I get my hands on Sophie Deveraux—"

"It wasn't Sophie," Hayley interrupted Klaus, correcting him on whose fault was it.

Kol turned to Klaus. "It was the Elder, Agnes."

"Fine," Klaus sighed, annoyed and feeling extremely irritated at the amount of people he can't trust in the city. "Agnes, Sophie. It's all the same to me. I'll slaughter the lot of them."

"I'm itching for some payback myself," Kol said as he pulled out the tip of an arrow from his side that he now noticed.

"Not if Elijah gets there first," said Rebekah.

Hayley snapped her gaze to Rebekah. "Elijah?" Rebekah turned to Hayley, and the werewolf looked up to Gwen. "Did you find him?"

"We've been in touch," Gwen said and glanced at Kol.

"And he has a plan," Rebekah piped in. She then looked to Hayley. "All he asked is that we take care of you." Hayley smiled at that.

"I am done babysitting for a while," Kol said as he draped an arm around Gwen's shoulders. The women smirked at Kol's remark. "I deserve some sort of raise or a promotion after battling a dozen of warlocks with crossbows, but it was a nice outing."

"Hey, so can we go home now?" Hayley asked as exhaustion suddenly sneaked up into her bones. "I'd really like to sleep for a few days." She went to stand up, but her head spun, taking everyone by surprise but Klaus was quick to gather her up in his arms.

"I've got you, love," Klaus said as he began to walk towards his parked car with his siblings and Gwen following him. "I've got you."

"Let's try to forget this night ever happened," Gwen said as she wrapped an arm around Kol's middle, to which everyone silently agreed with.

* * *

The mansion was silent. Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, Gwen and Hayley had all been silent and beyond exhausted after the night's events. They were all silent as they stepped inside the house and they were all silent when they went to their separate rooms. Klaus had not stayed long, having only placed Hayley on her bed before leaving. Rebekah had taken a shower and freshened up before she too left the mansion. It was up to Kol and Gwen to watch over Hayley while Klaus and Rebekah were out running their errands. But the silence was cut short when Kol yelled in pain. Gwen had also freshened up and wrapped her wet hair in a bun, and was in a bathrobe as she helped Kol with his predicament.

"I think I got it," Gwen said as she grabbed one last tip of an arrow that was stuck in Kol's upper back with a pair of pliers, trying to pull it out. Gwen grunted as she tried once again to pull the tip of the arrow with each time she tried bringing it out by an inch and elicited a groan or curse from Kol. "Almost there."

"No offense, darling, but you said that an hour ago," Kol complained as he grasped Gwen's vanity by the edge, his knuckles turning white as they cracked the surface of the furniture.

"Stop whining and don't break my stuff," Gwen scolded him as she pulled once more and got the head of the arrow out of Kol's back, to which Kol sighed in relief. He turned around and mockingly glared at her as she presented him with the arrowhead. "You're such a crybaby."

"I'm going to be an adult and thank you for your services," he said and leaned down to peck her lips. "But you were doing it all wrong."

She shook her head at him and pushed him towards the bathroom. "Take a shower, you stink."

"I have such a caring girlfriend," Kol called as he closed the door of the bathroom.

"You're lucky," she shot back as she took the pliers and left the room to make her way to the kitchen. She placed the bloody pliers on the island of the kitchen and went over to the fridge in search of a blood bag. She picked one up and got a mug to pour it inside. She took the metallic liquid to her lips and took a sip, which elicited a sigh of relief from her. Her ears perked up at the presence in the room.

"Midnight drink?" Klaus asked as he stepped into the kitchen.

Gwen turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Where did you run off to?"

"Went to visit a friend," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders, but Gwen knew him well enough to know what he was hiding.

"It's the Camille, isn't it?" she asked.

Klaus sighed as he leaned his elbows on the counter of the island. "I promised to grant her closure."

"You mean you took away her free will to decide that for herself," Gwen corrected him as she approached him. She extended the mug towards Klaus which he took and drank from it before handing it back to her. "You care about her, don't you?"

"What do you think?" he asked as his blue eyes locked with her green ones.

"I think you need to get laid," she said, to which they laughed at wholeheartedly. "I think you need to give yourself more chances to find what I have." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Life is not always about a power struggle, so take what good you can from it." She then walked away from him, but turned to him before he left the kitchen. "I'm here for you, Nik. I just need you to not screw things up too much."

"Goodnight, Cat," he told her with a grin on his lips.

She smiled. "Night, Mouse." She turned and started up the stairs to her room to finally rest and put this night behind her.

* * *

 **End of the chapter! I hope you guys have enjoyed this lengthy chapter. I have been pumped by your reviews, so here is what you guys should keep doing: If you love, Fave. If you like, Follow. If you have an opinion or a comment or a thought, review. I love you guys, so I hope you review.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed.**

 **See ya later!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello, my lovely Fanfictioners! I give you a new chapter for you all to enjoy. I hope I'm doing the show and the characters justice, so I hope I'm giving you guys the justice you deserve to keep enjoying the story. I am also eager to get things moving, since the action I want to get to is in much later chapters. And I also know I have not made Gwen and Kol connect much more, but that is also coming soon!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

"We had a deal," Klaus growled at Sophie Deveraux, who he had thrown unceremoniously on one of the loveseats in the living room as Gwen and Rebekah watched. They glanced at one another with raised eyebrows, both feeling that Klaus was being too dramatic and less homicidal; although, it had to do with having slept soundly throughout the night. And while Rebekah was showered and dressed, Gwen was still wearing one of Kol's shirts with sweatpants, having recently woken up. "You protect my unborn child, I dismantle Marcel's army, and whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, you allowed Hayley to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches." He finally sat down on the sofa next to Gwen after pacing in front of Sophie.

"I had nothing to do with it, I swear," said Sophie. "Hayley and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die."

"They were dead set on killing Hayley and the baby," Gwen said as her eyes narrowed, feeling that it was too early to start any drama, but the yelling had not allowed her to return to her slumber. "Start explaining why before I pop a vessel in your brain."

" _They're_ a faction of extremists," Sophie explained, eager to get her point across and not land herself on the bad side of the Original family. "Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the baby."

"What kind of vision?" Klaus asked, but Gwen was more interested in the witch that had the vision of Klaus' baby.

Sophie sighed. "She has them all the time. They're totally open to interpretation, and I'm guessing she's wrong on this one."

"Well, how, may I ask, was this particular vision interpreted?" asked Klaus as he leaned forward, his eyes set on Sophie.

Sophie, not knowing how to put to words what Sabine had seen, decided to be blunt about it. "Pretty much that your baby would bring death to all witches."

Gwen rolled her eyes when she saw Klaus actually grin, and the latter said, "Ah, well, I grow fonder of this child by the second."

"Sophie, look," Rebekah began as she sat on the other side of Gwen that Klaus wasn't occupying. "I promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson miracle baby whilst he tries to win your witch Davina's loyalty. Why don't you tell me just how extreme this faction is?"

Sophie frowned at Rebekah's words. "Elijah is talking to Davina?"

"Yeah, as we speak, I imagine," Rebekah answered.

"I'm guessing she'll have plenty to say about that crowd," Sophie said as she nodded her head.

"Do tell," Klaus inquired.

Gwen hummed. "Please, don't leave out any details."

"I wasn't always an advocate for the witches," Sophie said and reminisced about simpler days that were only eight months ago, but they felt like an eternity. She remembered the music, dancing and all the drinking she did while living life to the fullest with no interference from her witch heritage. "My sister was devoted like our parents, and our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned twenty-one, I left the Quarter to travel and play, but I wanted to be a chef. So I came back to Rousseau's." She took in a deep breath and released it. "But I returned to a nightmare, since the Elders voted to move forward with the Harvest."

Gwen frowned and was about to ask what was the Harvest, but Rebekah beat her to it. "What the bloody hell is the Harvest?"

"It's a ritual our coven does every three centuries so that the bond to our Ancestral Magic is restored," Sophie explained the Harvest in little words. "We appease our Ancestors. They keep our Ancestral power flowing."

"And why haven't I heard of this?" Klaus asked.

"Because, dear brother of mine," Kol began as he sauntered into the room, having just returned to the mansion. "You never really delved into the world of the witches in the Quarter." Kol pulled Rebekah out of her spot next to Gwen and sat, placing an arm around Gwen's shoulders. This left Rebekah to huff and sit on the armrest of the sofa. "It's such a dark and tedious world. So much so that the Harvest only ever seemed like a myth that only the Elders of the coven truly believed in it." He pecked Gwen's cheek in greeting. "To many, it's only a mere horror story to get their children to sleep when they're told."

"It's also the kind some people take literally and some people don't," Sophie added. "They had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was a myth."

"Was it?" asked Rebekah, but her question was unanswered since Klaus' phone rang at that exact moment.

Klaus took his phone out from the inside of his jacket and stood up before placing the phone to his ear. "Marcel, bit early in the day for you, isn't it?"

" _I know,_ " Marcel answered from the other end of the line. " _I make this look easy, but I still have an empire to run._ "

"Rather you than me," said as he paced behind the sofa Gwen, Kol and Rebekah sat on. "All that responsibility seems like such a bore." Gwen knew that last comment was more forced than the rest.

" _This might spice things up,_ " said Marcel. " _I just heard about a bunch of dead witches out in the bayou, the kind of damage a werewolf might do, only there was no full moon. I have an informant out there I need to meet, and I would love for you to go with me._ "

"Dead witches in the bayou," Klaus repeated. "Sounds like less of a problem and more like a cause for celebration."

" _Well, something killed them and may still be out there, and with your blood the only cure for a werewolf bite, I would love for you to accompany me,_ " Marcel explained.

"Well, why not?" Klaus sighed as he played along. "I haven't been to the bayou in ages. I'm on my way."

" _Peace out, brother,_ " Marcel said before ending the call.

"You can't go out there now," Sophie argued with Klaus as Hayley entered the room with a mug in her hands. "I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown—"

"You lose their link to their magic," Kol finished for Sophie. He leaned into Gwen's ear. "Witches here are so dependent on one another, even with the dead ones."

"Those witches tried to kill Hayley," Klaus shot back in return. "I prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead him back to us, to her, or to"—he then awkwardly pointed to Hayley's abdomen—"you know, that."

"Seriously?" Gwen scoffed.

Hayley shook her head at Klaus. "You are all class."

"And here I thought Kol was going to have more problems saying 'baby'," Gwen mumbled, but Kol heard her.

"Hey!" Kol protested halfheartedly.

"Stay put and save the rest of your story till I return," Klaus said to Sophie and then turned to Kol and Gwen. "Watch them all," he said this as he pointed to Rebekah, Hayley and Sophie.

Rebekah glared at Klaus. "You think me so incompetent to watch over a witch and a werewolf that you'd pick Kol over me to do the job?"

"Not that he's wrong, Bekah," Kol said before looking at Klaus. "But sorry, Nik. Gwen and I have plans for the day, so you'll have to settle for Rebekah as your nanny of the day."

"And what are you two up to?" Klaus asked them with narrowed eyes.

"Well, apart from a power struggle for the Quarter and your issues with Marcel," Gwen began as she stood up and approached Klaus, "Kol and I have not spent much time by ourselves, and we have something called a _relationship_ which requires careful care and attention." She was now standing right in front of Klaus. "We're going on a date all day, deal with it." She then left the room to go to her room and get ready for the day ahead of her, leaving Klaus fuming but unable to do anything about it.

Kol chuckled. "Such a spitfire, isn't she?" But this only earned him a glare from Klaus.

* * *

Klaus had left moments ago to meet up with Marcel to find his informant out in the bayou. Gwen noticed Sophie leave the mansion not long after Klaus did with the intention of going out to the bayou to find the corpses of her fellow witch friends. Hayley followed her some minutes after. Gwen was about to follow Hayley, but Kol stopped her and allowed Rebekah to deal with escaped witch and werewolf. And so Gwen decided to relax and not worry about anyone else for the rest of the day. And so, for the first time since their arrival, Kol and Gwen were to spend the day how they saw fit.

Gwen was in her bedroom that she shared with Kol dressing herself. She put on a floral-print tiered dress with a delicate crochet inset at the neckline. And it smocked at the waist for a better fit. She sat down on the edge of the bed to put on brown, motorcycle, ankle boots with harness detailing and a short stacked heel. The height of the heel at back was just over once inch. She wore a dark magenta, wool-knit beanie that matched the floral-print of her dress. She stood up, made sure that her necklace was around her neck, and then a light denim jacket.

"Ready, darling?" Kol asked as he walked into the room while adjusting his jacket, only to stop short when he caught sight of Gwen. He grinned and approached her, placing his hands on her waist. "Don't you look desirable?"

"Kol," Gwen said in a warning tone. "We haven't even left the bedroom."

Kol groaned as he dropped his head on her shoulder. "Mood killer."

Gwen chuckled as she cupped his face and pulled his face to lock eyes with him. "Drama queen." Kol chuckled with her, and he felt so light at that moment.

"So, we're going on a date?" Kol asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought we were going to scheme by ourselves."

"We are, but it's also like a date," Gwen said as she stepped out of Kol's embrace and walked over to the top of the drawer where some of their clothes were folded in. She picked up a folder that Kol had gone to retrieve in the morning and opened it. "We're merely taking matters into our own hands since Nik is being stubborn." She turned to Kol as she surveyed the list of names belonging to witches that resided in the Quarter with information about their address, jobs, birthdays and other personal descriptions. "There's something not right about this whole thing that the witches need."

"I agree," Kol said as he stood next to Gwen to look over the list of names. "And the Harvest is no joking matter."

Gwen looked up to him. "It's true, then?"

"Afraid so," Kol mumbled as he frowned. "But something still doesn't add up."

"What doesn't?" asked Gwen.

"Well, there is the part about why Davina has not completed the Harvest and helps Marcel control the witches of the Quarter," Kol said as he paced around the room. "But I am sure about one thing; Sophie isn't doing this to help her coven. There's something else motivating her that has made her so desperate that she's risked angering an Original."

"Well, at least I know where to start," Gwen said as she picked a name from the list and showed it to Kol.

"Sabine Laurent?" Kol asked after reading the name out loud. He looked up at Gwen with a smirk on his lips. "What did Sabine do to you to get her on your kill list?"

"Nothing much." Gwen shrugged her shoulders and looked up to him. "I am just very curious about the vision she had of Nik's baby bringing forth the destruction of all witches."

"Consider my curiosity piqued," Kol stated with a grin on his lips.

* * *

"Oh, my gosh!" Gwen exclaimed after taking a bite from the mint chocolate chip ice cream Kol bought in _Little Vic's Gelateria_ a few moments ago. They kept true to their plans of having a date. Kol decided to take Gwen out for some lunch and then ice cream, her favorite dessert. They now went about the streets of the French Quarter, but with a different activity in mind. "This is so good!"

"I aim to please," Kol said as he licked his own strawberry-flavored ice cream cone.

They walked on the sidewalk side by side, their arms brushing against one another with how close together they were walking. Gwen was smiling at the variety of people that were out and having fun during the day, especially the music being played by one person or a group of persons. She had been having fun all day long, and Kol was having fun being with her. Yes, he had pressing matters to discuss with Gwen, but he decided to leave it for another time that would not interrupt their day to themselves. Gwen hummed and pointed to the sign of a store that provided a tourist guide to take them around New Orleans. Kol followed her line of sight and immediately caught on to what she was referring to. They approached the store as they finished their ice creams. They looked through the window and found a woman with wavy, brown hair and chocolate skin tone. Her body was tall and fit with a bohemian-ish style of clothing. And she wore a layered necklace with big rings.

"You think that's her?" asked Gwen.

"Let's find out," Kol said as he grabbed Gwen's hand and led her inside the store just as a group of people were leaving. And there was no one else but them in the store, so Gwen changed the sign at the front to signal people that they were closed for the day. "Good afternoon," Kol greeted, and the woman smiled kindly.

"Afternoon," said the tour guide with a smile. The store was littered with interesting places to visit that would immediately ensnare one to want to go there. There were pictures of the woman with groups giving them a tour and brochures for people to take with them. "What can I help you with on this fine day?" she asked as she approached Gwen and Kol. "Want to go the swamp, cemetery, plantation, or a private tour?"

Gwen and Kol shared a knowing look before Gwen said, "I think we'll go with the private tour."

"All right," said the tour guide, grinning. "Well, there are schedules and places you can look over from our brochure."

"Actually, we're looking for something more specific," Gwen said, interrupting the other woman. "We're also looking for the one tour guide that has everything we want in a tour."

"Who would that be?" asked the woman with a frown on her face, looking rather wary.

Kol grinned and approached the woman. "Are you Sabine Laurent?"

The woman's wary demeanor changed, and she looked to be familiar with what was happening. "Let me guess, you're the troublemaking Mikaelson." She glanced at Gwen. "And you're the witchy friend of the Mikaelsons."

"Gwen Pierson," Gwen introduced herself with a nod of her head. "You see, we have some questions that need answering, and I thought that you would be the perfect candidate before we can continue on to enjoy our free day."

"Sorry, but I have nothing to say to either of you," Sabine said and turned to leave through the back door, but Gwen closed it when she raised her hand, causing Sabine to turn around and stare at the blonde witch with wide eyes. "Are you crazy or looking for a death wish? Any witch that does magic will be sentenced to death by Marcel."

"Yes, well, my girl is not your typical witch," Kol said as he took one of the chairs that were against a wall and placed it in the middle of the room. He looked to Sabine and motioned her towards it with a nod of his head. "Take a seat." Sabine hesitated, but decided it was best to oblige to the Original's demand. "Now, I would very much like to know what went wrong when the Harvest was performed this time around."

"Well, it was beginning of Marcel's full control of the witches," Sabine explained as she stared up at the couple in front of her. "The four girls that were chosen to be sacrificed during the Harvest were Cassie, Abigail, Davina Claire and Monique Deveraux."

Both Gwen and Kol frowned at the mention of the last two names. They both now connected Sophie's determined involvement in the Harvest; she had a relative that was meant to be sacrificed. But Kol's interest was also on Davina's last name. He did know that Mary-Alice Claire would have descendants, but this descendant was right in the middle of all the conflict in New Orleans. Still, he couldn't really pick up where he left off when he was last daggered by Klaus, not without having Gwen's opinion. Besides, he disliked keeping things from her; it did not sit well with him, and he preferred not to be the one to cause her any harm.

"During the ritual, the Elders call upon the four elements to bind the past and future magic together," Sabine continued to explain, "earth to connect them to the Ancestors, water to heal the community, wind to carry them to the Ancestors and back, fire to purify. The girls misinterpreted or did not understand what it meant to be put to sleep to then be _resurrected_ during the Reaping, but the Elders decided it was best to leave them in ignorance."

"The girls are meant to die in this ritual?" Gwen asked as she frowned at Sabine.

"Don't give me that look," Sabine said while tilting her head to the side. "It's tradition, but how would you know, considering you don't belong to any coven." She then sneered at Kol. "And you're not just fraternizing with any vampires, but with the worst ones."

"I prefer to steer clear of people murdering their own children," Gwen argued. "Even if they're brought back, you can't expect them to simply walk to their deaths and be happy to do it." She huffed. "And I prefer vampires over homicidal witches with crazy written all over them."

"Easy girls," Kol said as he stood behind Gwen and placed his hands on her shoulders to massage her joints, knowing that it usually calmed her. "If it's not over me, I'd rather you two try not to pull each other's hairs out." He then looked to Sabine. "Continue."

"Sophie Deveraux tried to intervene to save her niece, but it was too late. The ritual was already in progress and only two girls remained." Sabine huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But, of course, the vampires had to intervene, but by then Monique was sacrificed and that left Davina to finish the ritual." She sighed heavily, throwing her head back as she chuckled before looking up at the couple. "Marcel stopped the Harvest by taking Davina, who now has the power passed down to her as the girls were sacrificed, and that power is the one that needs to be released to the earth."

"Marcel uses that power to find the witches," Kol realized as he remembered the day of the masquerade and the presence Gwen felt when Katie was fighting the vampires to save Thierry. "He keeps you all in line by threatening you with Davina's power."

"Exactly," said Sabine. "But Davina must die before the time of the Harvest passes."

"What happens if she doesn't?" asked Gwen.

"All the witches hailing from New Orleans lose their magic for good," answered Sabine.

"Okay, that topic is done for," Gwen said and approached Sabine, bending down so her eyes are leveled with the other witch's eyes. "Now, tell me about that little vision of yours of the Mikaelson baby."

"It's what I saw," Sabine said slowly, as if Gwen could not understand a single word that she said. "That baby will bring death to all witches, it may even include you."

"Or maybe—since your vision is open to interpretation—it means that _you witches_ want the baby dead, not because it's a prophecy. _I_ was a false prophecy, so I know them," Gwen said, and Sabine had to keep from making a reaction. "If I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut about those visions from now on."

"I suggest you keep those witches on a tight leash, darling," Kol warned as Gwen returned to his side. "I don't think Marcel would mind me slaughtering the lot of you. I dare say he'd even throw a party in my name, and the whelp despises me." He grabbed Gwen's hand and swung it for a bit as he grinned at Sabine. "We'll be taking off and remember to think about what we've said." He pulled Gwen with him to exit the establishment. "We'll call you for that private tour." And then they left to continue to spend quality time together.

"Go to hell," Sabine mumbled, knowing that they heard her as she stood and decided to call it a day.

* * *

"Hello, children," Gwen announced her and Kol's arrival. The youngest Original brother had his arms wrapped around her middle with his face buried in her neck, causing the blonde witch to giggle. She turned her attention to Rebekah and Hayley standing next to the piano, the former extending a glass of scotch towards the latter. "What are you doing drinking?"

Rebekah shook her head, now realizing what she was doing. "Oh, right." She downed the drink in one gulp as Gwen and Kol approached them. "I hope your day was better than mine. I think we'll have to actually get a leash for Hayley." To this, Hayley rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I think I have one somewhere around here," said Kol, but it only earned him an elbow to his ribs from Gwen.

"Besides, how dare you?" Rebekah accused Hayley for an earlier comment. "I don't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots traipsing through the bayou for just anyone."

"And we don't use our day threatening witches just because," Gwen supplied and smiled at Hayley, while Kol rolled his eyes. "Sabine will keep her mouth shut about her visions of the baby."

"It was fun watching my darling threaten people," Kol murmured before connecting his lips with Gwen's.

Rebekah groaned. "Stop it!" Gwen and Kol pulled away from one another. "You're so disgustingly adorable together, so go do that in your room." Just then the door was pushed open with force as Klaus stepped inside, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Nik, finally. What—" Her words stop when Elijah enters the house not a second later. Gwen and Rebekah were happy to see him well, while Kol sighed and Hayley smiled. Rebekah ran over to her older brother and they embraced. "Oh, Elijah." She pulled away as she continued to smile. "You're safe."

Gwen went over to Elijah and smiled before hugging him. "Good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, Miss Gwen," Elijah said as he pulled away from the embrace and smiled down at the blonde that was five or so inches shorter than him. "I trust you made sure Niklaus behaved."

"Somewhat," said Gwen.

Elijah's eyes then went to Kol, the brother he was seeing for the first time since he was brought back to life. "I am glad you are well, brother."

"I think you can understand why I have my doubts about that," Kol said as he frowned at Elijah. He was not pleased that Elijah was in Marcel's hands when he was daggered, but he would have been fine with Elijah daggered under his family's care. Kol may have returned to New Orleans and had gone along with his family's plans, but that did not mean that he was going to bend over backwards for them at their every beck and call. And he had not forgotten the many times his family had betrayed him with a dagger to his heart. "I wouldn't have minded you staying daggered for a while longer, since everything around you have a tendency to become dull."

"Kol," Gwen whispered to calm him as she grabbed his right hand in both of hers and stroked his knuckles with her thumbs. She turned to Elijah and smiled. "We're glad you're all right." Elijah would have argued with Kol, but his attention was on Hayley as he watched her leave the room.

"Now that you're home, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" Rebekah asked Elijah as she took the topic of conversation elsewhere.

"Excuse me just a moment," Elijah told Rebekah, and pecked her right cheek before leaving the room to follow Hayley who had left them alone.

Rebekah frowned after Elijah and looked to everyone. "Where's he going?"

Elijah simply followed the path that Hayley took tot he porch of the mansion. He found her staring out into the night and approached her. He honestly did not know what kind of connection he had with Hayley, but he was intrigued by her and desired to explore why he cared about her so much during the short time they knew one another. And it wasn't just about her carrying his niece in ehr womb, but something else that called him to her.

"You're back," Hayley said as she crossed her arms over the bump that was slowly forming in her abdomen.

"I'm back," he responded in return. He had expected her to smile and be happy with his return, considering the poor hospitality his siblings must have offered her, even with Gwen present, but he had not expected her hand to connect with his cheek in a stinging slap.

Hayley scowled at Elijah. "Don't make promises you can't keep." She sighed as she looked up at him. "Welcome home." And then he watched her walk inside the mansion as he placed his hand where she had slapped him, and he couldn't help but like her fighting spirit.

* * *

"Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie," Elijah announced as he removed his jacket and stood behind the desk in the study. Klaus and Rebekah sat on the two chairs that were in front of the desk, while Hayley stood against a wall in the room. Kol stood behind Rebekah's chair, while Gwen sat on the arm rest of Klaus' chair. They all gave Elijah their undivided attention. "This story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all. This was over Davina."

"Davina has to be sacrificed to complete the Harvest," Gwen supplied.

"But Marcel has her under lock and key," added Kol.

"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything," Elijah continued with the story. "Now, four months after that, a young, pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister could use you to find Davina. If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter to life."

"Wow, so the witches are the deceitful ones in this story, not the vampires," said Gwen.

"Apparently," said Elijah. "We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power." He sighed and leaned his elbows on the back of the chair behind the desk. "This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That makes her more dangerous than anyone."

Marcel Gerard paced in one of the many living rooms of the building that had once belonged to the Mikaelson family and that he had taken from them without their consent when they fled from their father. He was worried about the remaining living members of the Original family staying in his town, especially since Klaus made it quite clear that he intended to take back what was once his. He also had to be careful about Davina's safety and some secrets that he needed them to stay buried. Klaus knew his secret weapon and it gave the hybrid an advantage over him, so he needed to have something that belonged to Klaus that would also make him back down or at least that it could give him some common ground against the Originals. It was mere suicide to even try to go after even one of his siblings, especially with how protective they were over one another. Elijah, with no dagger in his heart, was the oldest, which made him the strongest and nearly impossible to outwit. Rebekah was vicious and vindictive when it came to protecting her family, and it bordered on her being a lunatic. And Kol was unpredictable and, unlike his siblings, had no qualms about ending his life and that of his followers—this made him the most dangerous of them all. That left one person that could even the playing field for him against the Originals.

"Marcel," Diego called as he entered the room, and Marcel stopped his pacing to face Diego. "You asked for me?"

"Yeah, I have some questions that only you can answer, but don't think I've forgotten about that attitude of yours earlier today," Marcel said as he grabbed Diego's shoulder and had him sit on a chair.

"What do you want to know?" asked Diego, eager to make peace with Marcel.

"Remember that girl you made a snack off that had Kol Mikaelson on your neck in a second?" Marcel asked as he sat on the coffee table in front of Diego.

"The blonde chick," Diego sighed as he remembered that night, but he'd like to forget the fear that consumed him when he came face-to-face with the youngest Mikaelson brother. He remembered that night and it made him lick his lips as he tasted the ghost of Gwen's blood on his lips. "Yeah, I remember her."

"Anything about her that you think was off?" Marcel asked as he tried to pick into Diego's memory. "Klaus told me she was a ghost, but he neglected to share what she came back to life as and practically everything about her." Marcel cleared his throat. "I kind of need to know what I'm dealing with here, if I'm gonna make my move."

"I don't know about you, but she's no vamp or wolf," Diego said as he bit his lower lip, remembering the taste of Gwen's blood dripping down his throat. He chuckled as he sighed. "Man, I gotta say that's the best drink I've ever had in my life. I felt like life was breathed into me, like I was human or something with no urge but to have more of her blood."

"Her blood's magical," Marcel concluded.

"Yeah, and she's strong, stronger than a human, but she was too drunk to fight me off," said Diego. He noticed that Marcel's mind was working a mile a second. "You wanna share what the plan is?"

Marcel grinned. "I have a plan, but it can either even out the playing field or fall apart before we even start."

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, which I felt it was more of a filler, but these things are important in the long run, but I found it was still difficult to write. Still, I finished it. Hope you guys review your thoughts and opinions, Fave your love and Follow if you like.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Greetings! Here is yet another chapter for you Fanfictioners to enjoy. I am happy that I am finally getting a move on with this story and I can't wait for things to get juicy and dramatic as the story goes on. I also hope you guys enjoy the story and where it's leading to. I know that Gwen and Kol's future may look like it will be stuck the same as it is, but trust me it's not. But I will say this to try and clear some air now, there will be no solid love triangle, because Gwen and Kol are TRUE LOVE as said of Davina and Kol in the series. I won't use what is done between Davina and Kol in the show, but there are elements that I will use.**

 **So remember that I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

 _Gwen laughed as she twirled in the field that was filled with wildflowers. It was colorful with trees surrounding the area and the sound of running water could be heard. She knew this place; it was near the home she grew up in with her parents and younger sister. She felt happy and at peace as she watched the fluffy clouds cover the clear blue sky. The sun was bright as the wind swept around her and cooled the air. Birds were singing and flying in the air. It was a beautiful and peaceful image that Gwen fell in love with. The skirt of her white sundress danced as she twirled with flowers in her blonde locks. Her laughter and dancing ceased when her eyes locked on another figure a few feet away from her._

" _Willow?" Gwen called. Her younger sister looked the same since she last saw her, and it was when her family had died in the car crash. Her sister's fair skin was bright and her blonde hair shined in the sunlight. Her hazel eyes sparkled and Gwen's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared at the image of her younger sister that was only four inches shorter than her. "It's a dream."_

" _Something like it," answered Willow as she approached her older sister. "You're happy with him, aren't you?"_

 _Gwen knew who she was talking about. "I am." She nodded. "You would've liked him."_

" _I know," said Willow. "He's very handsome."_

 _Gwen chuckled. "I can't say that more than I already do without the risk of inflating his ego more than it already is."_

" _His family seems nice," Willow said, but Gwen raised an eyebrow at her. "You're lucky they all like you. You won't find people who would welcome you into their family like they have. Sure, they have a lot of issues, but that's why they need you."_

" _You always look for the best in people," Gwen said, but then a thought entered her mind. "What about you, why haven't you found peace like Mama and Papa?"_

" _I had to look out for my big sister," said Willow, but then released a sigh as she looked up at Gwen. "It's dangerous in New Orleans, and things will only get worse from here on out. This place is cursed by the dead, and there is so much darkness here."_

" _What can I do to help?" Gwen asked as she knelt in front of Willow and took the younger's hands in hers. "Tell me about this darkness."_

 _Willow sighed as she smiled at Gwen with tears in her eyes. "Just be happy and follow your heart." She sniffled and rubbed her nose with the long sleeve of her white blouse that matched with her brown skirt. "Don't let him go." Gwen smiled at that. "He makes you happy."_

 _The wind grew strong and angry. Gwen and Willow looked up to see the sky darken as they embraced to keep each other close. The field slowly died as the air grew cold, Gwen's breath was visible as she exhaled. Willow knew it was time for her to go, especially the glow of Gwen's necklace that urged her to leave and hide. She pulled away from Gwen's embrace and smiled at her big sister._

" _I have to go or they'll find me," Willow said as she stepped further away from Gwen, rain beginning to pour down over them. "The spirits of the witches of New Orleans are very rude."_

" _Tell me how to help you, Willow!" Gwen yelled over the sound of the wind._

 _Willow shook her head. "I can only help myself, but you need to watch out for the witches; don't trust them!"_

" _Willow!" Gwen screamed for her sister._

" _I love you!" Willow yelled her final words to Gwen as lightning clouded Gwen's vision._

* * *

Gwen gasped as she shot up from the bed, only to find she was alone in her and Kol's shared bedroom. Gwen panted as she tried to calm her fast-beating heart before she swung her legs over the side of the bed; her bare feet touched the cold floor and sent a shiver up her spine. The cold soothed her mind as she tried not to think too much of her dream, let alone that her sister seemed to be in quite the jam. She needed to find a way to help her little sister, but her mind was too muddled to even think coherently.

Gwen decided it was quite odd for Kol to not be there so early in the day, so she reached for her robe and covered one of Kol's shirts that she was wearing before she slipped into her slipper boots. She took a minute to calm the goosebumps on her skin and the lump that had grown in her throat. Gwen inhaled deeply so as to finally calm down her nerves. She read the clock on the nightstand next to the bed and found it was very early, almost four hours before the sun rose, and it worried her where Kol was.

Gwen sighed and made the trek out of her room. She was still on the first floor, but stopped when she heard voices, causing a frown to appear on her features. She followed the voices to a study, where light streamed out of the room. She made sure to keep her steps light and make no sound while also remaining in the shadows. Gwen distinctly heard Kol's voice arguing with Klaus'.

"I cannot believe this," Klaus fumed as he paced in the room, every once in a while shooting Kol a glare. "You"—he accusingly pointed at Kol with his hand as he stopped pacing—"an Original vampire having no kind of self-control, not that you ever did, but you did have restraint."

"You think I like this, Nik?" Kol defended himself as he wiped the blood on his chin with a towel that Klaus gave him. "You can't blame me for being hungry, especially coming back to life after having spent quite some time without a single drop of blood on the Other Side. I'm trying to wean out of the fresh stuff, if only to be able to sleep next to the love of my life without wanting to plunge my fangs into her neck." Kol sighed after having rambled. "I'm doing the best I can by sticking mostly to blood bags, at least until I am sure I am in control."

"Not good enough," Klaus said with no sympathy for his brother, his worry for Gwen greater than Kol's problem. "You are supposed to be better for her, so don't make me regret letting you be with her."

Kol huffed. " _You_ don't let us me together just because _you_ decided it. It's our lives and you have no say in what we do." Kol took menacing steps towards his brother and Klaus' jaw clenched at this. "You're no longer the only man in her life, Nik. And here I thought that _any_ of you would actually be happy that we have our lives back."

"Kol?" Gwen said as she entered the room, not needing to pretend how tired she was. She had to intervene before things got too intense. Kol and Klaus turned to find her leaning against the doorway. "Where'd you go?"

Kol glanced to Klaus before turning to her with a grin on his lips. "I went for a snack," he said as he reached her and rubbed his hands on her arms. "Sorry I woke you."

"It's okay," she said as she smiled up at him, and the smell of blood reached her nostrils, but she kept quiet about it. "Want to go back to bed?"

"It would be my pleasure," Kol sighed.

Gwen shifted her gaze to Klaus. "Night, Mouse." She shook her head. "I mean, good morning."

"Morning, Cat," Klaus said with a nod of his head. "Kol," he called before the pair left, and Kol turned to his grinning older brother. "Remember to clean up after yourself, please. I'd hate to have to do it for you."

Kol only glared at Klaus before leading Gwen back to their bedroom, while Klaus maliciously smirked after the couple left. If Kol harmed Gwen, even if it was by accident, he'd have no choice but to take matters into his own hands. Unbeknownst to any of them, Elijah was present for everything that had transpired.

* * *

"You look sexy in an apron," Kol said with a smile that matched the Cheshire cat's as he watched Gwen shuffle around the kitchen cooking breakfast. "Why not just wear an apron for me?"

Gwen turned to him with a grin on her lips and handed him a tea laced with blood from a blood bag. "Maybe, if you play your cards right."

"Don't make me go over there," Kol playfully warned as he took a sip from the drink she made him with a small grimace, but Gwen gave him a grin before turning back to her cooking.

"Good morning," Hayley greeted as she walked into the kitchen where Gwen was making breakfast and Kol was very entertained by Lilwen's spell book. The smell of bacon and pancakes reached Hayley's nose and her mouth watered. She sat on a stool that was next to Kol's on the island of the kitchen. "Smells good."

"Good morning to you," Gwen responded as she continued to cook breakfast, offering Hayley a smile before turning her attention back to the stove. "I hope you like pancakes, bacon and orange for breakfast." She turned to the island and stacked the pancakes she made on a plate. She then placed the bacon on another plate next to the pancakes with slices of orange on another. "You and I are the only ones who actually eat in this house."

"It kinda sucks when they forget," Hayley said as she popped a slice of orange in her mouth.

Kol huffed, eyes still on the grimoire. "I asked Gwen if she wanted a chef, but she denied such service and sent away the woman who I kindly asked to be said chef."

"You mean you compelled her," Gwen corrected as she sat next to Hayley after having brought a plate for herself and Hayley with two glasses of water.

Kol snorted. "Details."

"Good morning," Elijah announced as he entered the kitchen with a small smile on his lips. Gwen and Hayley responded in kind, but Kol chose to ignore his brother as he munched on a piece of bacon and passed a page of the grimoire to the next.

Rebekah entered through the door that connected the kitchen to the backyard. "Morning."

"On behalf of me, the baby and Gwen, we would appreciate any of you to make a grocery list, considering we're the only ones that like a home-cooked meal," Hayley said as Rebekah grabbed a pair of yellow gloves meant for cleaning.

"Speaking of, add bleach," Rebekah said as she left the kitchen.

"Didn't like your breakfast, brother?" Kol asked Elijah with a smirk on his lips and looked up to find Elijah scowling at him. "It was Nik's idea."

"And you both decided to take it for yourselves," argued Elijah, not looking at his younger brother.

Kol shrugged as he bit off a piece of bacon Gwen offered him. "We weren't going to let it go to waste."

"You know," Elijah began as he directed his attention to Hayley, "I do hope my siblings were hospitable towards you in my absence."

Gwen finished her plate and frowned as she looked at her empty plate. "I want some dessert."

"In your absence—as you like to call it," Hayley said as she popped another slice of orange in her mouth, "which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart—"

"Get used to those," Kol interjected as Elijah moved towards the refrigerator.

"Right, well, I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires," Hayley said as Elijah pulled out a box with chocolate cake inside and two small bowls form the cupboard. "I've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins."

"Try travelling with Nik and those coffins occupied," Gwen said as Elijah placed one slice of chocolate cake in each bowl.

"Try occupying it," Kol said as he took the last piece of bacon. "Delicious, darling."

"Thank you," Gwen said to Kol's compliment.

Hayley hummed as she downed the last bite of her breakfast down her throat. "And I was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced that my baby is Lucifer." Elijah simply placed the two bowls of dessert in front of Gwen and Hayley, having heard Gwen's plea for a dessert. "Oh…dessert."

"Get to the part where we have done a tremendous job at looking after you," Kol said as he stole a piece of the chocolate cake from Hayley, getting his hand smacked when he returned the fork to the werewolf.

Hayley looked to Elijah. "They've been…fine…" she trailed off, not really knowing how to phrase the past days or even the Mikaelsons' treatment towards her, but Gwen was actually civil and true to her word. "Gwen gets five stars out of five."

"Yes!" Gwen whooped with her mouth filled with chocolate cake that made her insides melt.

"What?" Kol asked as he mocked being hurt with a hand over his heart. "I actually went with you to that hole of a clinic in the swamp."

"Making you all weirdly protective," said Hayley. "And that is thanks to Elijah."

"Always getting the praise," mumbled Kol.

"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece," Elijah said to Hayley, both of them locking eyes and a few strange seconds passed. Gwen and Kol frowned at this out of curiosity, both sharing a glance. "So," Elijah said as he broke eye contact with Hayley as he cleared the empty plates, "back to the murderous witches, I have some concerns."

"They're evil," Hayley said after swallowing a piece of the chocolate cake. "And my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is not comforting."

"I'd try unlinking you," Gwen offered. "But I need Sophie and the object that binds you together, and I doubt that she'll eagerly agree with our demands."

"Yes," Elijah murmured to himself. "I think it's time we took care of that little problem."

"I'm all for it," Rebekah said and grunted as she pulled the corpse of the young girl that Klaus offered to Elijah as the start of forgiveness, but it backfired. "As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town." She dragged the body of the girl across the kitchen to the back, leaving a trail of blood behind. "Who do we have to kill?"

"Finally, some action," said Kol.

"Probably no one," Elijah said, but received raised eyebrows from Gwen, Kol and Hayley. He sighed. "All right, potentially everyone."

"Speak the truth," Gwen said as Kol jumped off his stool and stood behind Gwen, his arms wrapped around her middle.

"And shame the devil," Kol added and kissed Gwen's neck, causing her to giggle, while Hayley happily ate her chocolate cake and Elijah cleared the rest of the plates to place them in the dishwasher.

* * *

"Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees," Rebekah remarked after reading the cover of the book Klaus was reading as she scrubbed the rug that had been stained with the young woman's blood earlier. Gwen entered the room already dressed for the day and stood behind Klaus to peek at what he was reading. "Looks like someone is worried about impending daddyhood."

"Nonsense," Klaus sighed. "Elijah is back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie dust and float away."

"If you grow wings and put on a tiny, green dress, you might just have pixie dust of your own," Gwen said as she need down to place her chin on Klaus' shoulder, hearing him huff while Rebekah smirked.

"Strange, I don't recall any pixie dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure," Elijah said as he entered the room with his mother's grimoire in hand. He opened it on a table that was behind the sofa Klaus sat on.

Gwen chuckled. "He's still pissed at you, Mouse." She left Klaus' side and walked over to Elijah and looked at the worn pages of Esther's spell book.

"I didn't ask for your input, Cat," Klaus said as he kept his attention on his own book when Kol entered the room and leaned on a doorway with his hands stuffed in the front pockets of his jeans.

Rebekah perked up as she saw Elijah with their mother's grimoire. "What are you doing with Mother's spell book?"

"Well, in exchange for my freedom, I promised the witch Davina that I would share a few pages from Mother's grimoire," Elijah explained. Kol opened his mouth to object to giving a possible enemy valuable spells, but closed it. Any other he would have protested against giving a possible enemy some of the pages written by one of the strongest witches that had ever lived, but his Mother's spell book could never compare to Lilwen's grimoire. "It'll help her learn to control magic, and I thought we'd begin with a little unlinking spell." He stored the pages inside his jacket before looking at Gwen. "I'd ask you to do it, Miss Gwen, but I'd rather kill two birds with one stone."

"Wait," said Rebekah as she stopped scrubbing. "You want to use her to unlink Hayley from Sophie Deveraux?"

"Aren't you being a little bit too devious for your moral compass," Kol teased.

"Sophie brought us to this town under false pretenses," said Elijah. "She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions. She wants to take Davina back. So she yoked her own cause to ours with magic, threats, and half-truths. Well, no more." He sighed as he glanced at all of his siblings and Gwen. "As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void." He looked to Klaus. "Niklaus I need you to come with me. I need five minutes alone with Davina. You need to make certain that I am not interrupted."

"Let me come with," Gwen said, and all eyes turned to her. "I can make friends with Davina, considering our mutual dislike of witches. I can even hurry up the unlinking spell."

"Fine," said Elijah as Rebekah stood up with scrub in hand. He looked between Kol and Rebekah. "One must remain with Hayley, so discuss it."

"I have a life, whereas Bekah does not," Kol said as he stood straight and walked over to Gwen, catching her lips with his. He looked to Elijah. "No one harms her."

Elijah nodded as he curiously watched his younger brother interact with Gwen. Ever since his return from the dead, Kol had been hostile towards him and his siblings, not really interacting with any of them. Elijah was sure that if it wasn't for Gwen, Kol would not be in town. He heard everything the night before, but found that Klaus handled the situation quite horribly. Their younger brother was having a problem, and Elijah actually wanted to help him with no prejudice or judgment. He needed his family focused and united.

Kol turned to Gwen. "Be safe."

" _You_ be safe," Gwen said and pecked his cheek. "And don't do anything reckless."

Klaus frowned at Kol. "Mind sharing with the others your plans for the day, brother?"

"Not that I owe any of you any type of explanation, given the fact that none of you cared what I was on about while on the Other Side, but I actually have some errands to run that would be beneficial for us against Marcel," Kol explained before disappearing in a blur.

"How did I get elected Supernanny?" Rebekah protested as Elijah and Gwen left the room.

Klaus stood up from the sofa with a squared look on his face and dropped his book on the coffee table. "More importantly, who put him in charge?" He then followed after Gwen and Elijah, leaving Rebekah to look after Hayley and her niece.

* * *

Kol sighed as he sat at the bar of an establishment that was quite far from the French Quarter and raised an arm to the bartender to order a drink. His intention was to hunt away from Marcel's territory to not draw attention which was Klaus' request, but he was still very much fighting the urge to do as he was told. He thought he had control of his hunger, but his problem surged when he had drank from Gwen. After Lilwen brought him back, he had only drunk from blood bags, nothing fresh, and everything was fine. But when Gwen's blood covered his gums, his body was reminded of how delicious it was to drink fresh blood. He tried distancing himself from Gwen, if only for a time, but it only got worse. He stuck to blood bags, but he dried the occasional body of some girl who wanted to pick him up from a bar. His body, mind and heart were at war against one another, and he only wanted it to stop, but stopping it would require turning off his humanity. He was not disposed to ever do that, considering his love for Gwen would be null and void.

"Damn it," Kol sighed as he hurriedly reached for his phone and took it out of his jacket. He turned it on and unlocked it to be met with the background being a picture of Gwen sleeping with the morning light streaming from behind her. He had taken it when they were staying in Paris, and she looked like an angel. Kol became calm as he smiled at the picture. "You look ethereal, darling."

The bartender returned and gave Kol his drink just as a brunette woman sat next to him with a flirt smile on her lips. "Problems with the girlfriend?" she asked after having caught a peek of Kol's phone before he stuffed it back into his jacket. He ignored the girl, but her heartbeat pulsed through her veins and that he could not ignore for much longer. "I bet I can help you with whatever's going on."

Kol made sure no one was looking and took a sip from his scotch before grasping the brunette's chin in a tight hold. " **It would be best if you stopped looking for someone to whom you can spread your legs for and focus on your own business.** " He released her and watched her leave in her state of numbness from having been compelled, and his canines ached to be sunk into her neck but he held them back. He returned to his drink as he planned on how to tell Gwen about his hideout and the secrets it harbored.

* * *

"Elijah," Gwen said as she stopped Elijah from fully entering the room where Davina lived. Klaus was giving Elijah the minutes he needed with Davina, so he could not hear them. "Last night, I heard Kol and Nik arguing about Kol having a problem with his hunger."

"I know." He nodded. "I heard."

"Kol loves his family, I know you all love each other," she began, not knowing how to phrase her words. "But none of you tried to bring him back, and he understands that you'd do that for each other, except for him. I don't want to ask too much, but please help him." Elijah sighed, a sad smile on his lips. He knew he had failed his siblings many times; this only made it more real for him. "I love Kol with everything I have; I just need him to be okay, and he won't talk to me about this because he doesn't want me to worry."

Elijah sighed as he placed a hand on Gwen's cheek. "I promise to help my younger brother. I will do it for you, but mostly because he is my family."

Gwen smiled. "Thank you, Elijah."

Elijah smiled at Gwen, but it became a straight line as his thoughts clouded his mind. His mind was already working on a way on how to even approach Kol. This was delicate territory, especially with how Kol views himself in his own family. It was high time that his family mended old wounds; it did little good for them to be at odds with unresolved issues. Elijah had to make sure that his family was in order, and that included the younger brother he had thought lost to them. Unlike Kol, Finn was the outcast of the family by default because of his views and such, but Kol had the chance to be part of the family. And Elijah had to make sure it was done.

They both then made their way over to the entrance of Davina's room. Elijah leaned on the doorway, while Gwen stood next to him as they watched the young witch draw on a canvas with carbon tainting her hands. Elijah knocked on the doorway, bringing Davina's attention to him. The young girl smiled wide at Elijah, who pulled out the folder that held some pages of Esther's grimoire.

"I made you a promise," said Elijah.

Davina smiled. "Come in." Her eyes turned to Gwen before they narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Gwen Pierson," Gwen introduced herself as she entered the room, smiling at Davina. "I'm a friend of Elijah's."

"She's family," Elijah corrected, which brought a wider smile to Gwen's lips. "She's here to help you with this predicament of your control over your power."

Davina looked to Gwen. "You're a witch."

"I am." Gwen nodded. "I know of Marcel's rules, so I won't be performing any magic. I'm here to help you, especially since I've also recently started doing magic myself." Gwen took the pages from Elijah's grasp and presented them to Davina on a table, while Elijah procured the knot that was meant as the symbol that tied Hayley to Sophie Deveraux.

"The spell of unknotting?" Davina asked with a raised eyebrow, unsure of how this spell was meant to help her.

Elijah showed Davina the knot in his hands. "This is a Sanguinem Knot. The witches use it as Representational magic." He looked to Davina. "If you can unknot this rope using that spell, you'll have taken an important step towards control."

"It's meant to help you control and harness your power," said Gwen.

"This is one of my Mother's later spells, requires much more power than you realize," Elijah explained as he placed the knot next to the pages that belonged to Esther's spell book. "Now, if you can perform this, Gwen shall inform me and I shall return with another page." He turned to leave, but stopped and looked to Davina once more. "A spell of your choosing next time." And then he left.

Gwen turned to Davina after watching Elijah leave. "When do you wanna start?" Davina stared at her warily, and Gwen did not blame her. "I know you have no reason to trust me," she sighed. "But we have more in common than you think."

"Oh, yeah?" Davina asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Like what?"

"For one," Gwen began as she had a look around the room, "I know this is not a place you want to live in for the rest of your life. It reminds of the time I spent as a ghost after I died." Davina frowned at this. "Another one is the fact that we both have our reasons to dislike our own kind."

"What did witches ever do to you?" asked Davina, interested in finding more about Gwen.

"They always showed their opinion of wanting me dead," Gwen explained as she stared at the spell that Davina needed to do to be able to unlink Hayley from Sophie. "They wanted me dead."

"Story of my life," said Davina.

Gwen smiled. "You still have a chance to live your life however you want, and not die like I did." She sighed. "Dying is something I would never wish on someone else." She turned to Davina and smiled. "I'll tell you more for each time you attempt to unknot this hideous thing."

Davina grinned. "Deal."

* * *

Sophie grunted as she struggled against the hold two warlocks had on her arms. "Let go of me!"

"Leave her be," Agnes ordered the two warlocks as she entered the mausoleum where Sophie was being held in. The two hooded warlocks chained Sophie to the shackles attached to the walls to not have her do anything drastic.

"Killing me to get to Klaus or his baby is not the answer," Sophie tried to reason with Agnes.

"I'm not gonna kill you Sophie, I was there the day you were born," Agnes said as she dropped a shoulder bag on a table and began to take out the items she carried in the bag. "I'm the last remaining Elder of our coven. It is my duty to protect our power, and our power means nothing if that baby grows another day." She turned to Sophie and approached the chained witch. "Sabine's omen was clear. That baby will bring death to us all."

Sophie was honestly afraid of Agnes at that moment and what she was capable of doing to keep the coven safe. "What are you gonna do?" Agnes did not answer, but showing Sophie the needle in her hand was enough as an answer. "No, no," Sophie pleaded. "Agnes, no. No!" Agnes took hold of the side of Sophie's face and turned it to the side. "Don't do this!" Agnes stabbed the needle into Sophie's neck. "No!"

Hayley yelped at the stinging in the side of her neck. She placed her fingers at her neck and pulled them away to see blood coating them. The sting was gone and she did not feel any other side effect, but it was still concerning. Her yelp had alerted Rebekah, who came into the room not a second later to make sure Hayley was all right.

"What the hell was that?" Rebekah asked as she watched Hayley inspect the blood on her fingertips.

"Hell if I know," Hayley sighed as Rebekah stood at her side. "It felt like I was being stabbed." Rebekah pulled away Hayley's hair from her neck to see the small amount of blood that was there. None of this meant it was anything good, especially with Hayley still linked to Sophie Deveraux.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Not much Gwen and Kol fluff, but that doesn't mean they are losing any spark between them. This installment is meant to challenge Gwen and Kol and their relationship. This is where they truly get to know one another. And Gwen also begins to learn how to actually live again.**

 **Well, remember to like in Follows, love in Faves and express your thoughts and opinion in the Reviews.**

 **See ya later!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Greetings, Viewers! I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter and are ready to enjoy this one. Loved the reviews and comments and I can't wait for what is to come. I am glad I am satisfying you all with my story and will continue to enjoy. I know chapters have been long, but I hope you guys have enjoyed them. The more, the better!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

"So Klaus saved you and hid you away?" Davina asked as she finished another try at the knot, but failed. She turned to Gwen who was looking through her many drawings. "Just like Marcel is doing with me?"

Gwen shrugged as she came upon a familiar face that was drawn on a white paper with carbon. "I meant that we have a lot of things in common, if we look at them objectively." Gwen sighed when she recognized Katie's face on the paper. "I lost my whole family in a single second."

Davina's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"And you have no blood relative," Gwen said with tenderness in her eyes for the young witch. "I'm sorry for that."

"Thank you," said Davina.

"Yeah," Gwen sighed. "I would have preferred my little sister live, she had so much more to live for. After that, I got low and dark thoughts were excessive in my mind. Nik helped me work through that and I came to terms with what I was." The Immortal witch turned to Davina with her lips quirked upwards. "It wasn't easy, we fought _a lot_ , but we came to love each other in our own weird sibling-like way."

Davina scoffed. "He made quite the impression."

Gwen chuckled. "Yes, he tends to do that and with the wrong people."

"Is he always like that?"

"Not always."

Davina nodded before she turned her attention back to the knot. "I'm gonna take a break."

"Sure," Gwen said and motioned to the bed with a wave of her hand. "Why don't we talk more about you and that pesky problem of yours with the witches?"

* * *

"Killed the two guards," Kol said as he entered the mausoleum where Sophie had been chained in, Elijah having removed the shackles that tied her to the wall. Kol had rushed to the French Quarter when Elijah called him about Klaus' child being in danger, only to find Agnes having had a hand at this attempt against the Mikaelson baby. "What was so important that I couldn't finish my drink?"

"Agnes stuck me with a needle," Sophie said with a grunt when Elijah removed the last shackle. "Cursed objects were created a long time ago." She sat down as she stroked her wrists to soothe the raw skin. "We use them so we don't get busted by Marcel for doing magic."

"Yes, along with many trinkets I told my pupils to create," Kol said as he stood next to Klaus, the latter leaning against the wall. "You should be thanking me, darling."

Sophie frowned at Kol. "You created the cursed objects?"

Kol opened his mouth to explain, but Klaus huffed and interjected Kol. "Get on with it." Klaus was not patient, let alone at a moment like this where the life of his child was being threatened. "What did she use on you?"

"The one she used is called the Needle of Sorrows," Sophie explained. "It was cursed in 1860, when—"

Kol groaned as he recognized the name. "Bloody hell."

"What?" Klaus asked his younger brother.

"The Needle was created for one purpose only," Kol said as his brothers and Sophie turned to him. "It raises the blood temperature of a pregnant woman to cause a miscarriage in the high tide."

"A miscarriage?" Elijah said in disbelief, appalled that someone would purposely cause the death of an innocent child. "So how much time do we have to fix this?"

"It'll do what it's meant to by tonight's high tide," said Sophie. "And—believe me—it will work."

"Kol?" Elijah asked for confirmation if what Sophie was saying true.

Sophie scoffed. "I think I can give you answers to what my own people make, considering I saw her use a similar object on a kid who went mad and killed a bunch of priests." Klaus perked up at this, easily connecting the dots of this incident with a certain blonde bartender's problem with her twin brother's death.

"Your input is of no value to me," Elijah said to Sophie before turning to Kol. "Kol?"

"It's true." Kol nodded. "If we don't do something, that baby will burn up the minute the clock hits midnight."

"I'd like to have a little chat with this Agnes," Klaus said as he stalked over to Sophie. "Where can I find her?"

"You won't," Sophie said while shaking her head. "There are a thousand places she could hole up to wait it out."

"Gwen's still with Davina," Kol announced as he texted Gwen. "She can't perform a locating spell without arising suspicion."

"That's precisely why we need to unlink you from Hayley," said Elijah. "No more danger towards her or the child."

Sophie jerked her head back. "No. What?" She stood up and faced Elijah. "If I am not linked to Hayley, I lose my leverage on you." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Elijah, feeling anxious at the possibility of failing her sister. "We had a deal."

"We are not on the same side, Sophie Deveraux," argued Elijah.

Kol chuckled. "Quite foolish of you to be so condescending to the people who might rip your head off, if tonight's events prove to be tragic."

Elijah looked to Sophie with a blank look. "Our deal no longer stands."

Sophie opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it as she looked over the three Originals that surrounded her. It was best not to anger the three of them. Two of them had quite the reputation of being prone to irrational violence, while the other's calm demeanor was all the more frightening. And Sophie had no choice but to submit in the argument, preferring to stay alive to keep her promise to her sister. If Klaus' baby died, she was as good as dead.

Klaus turned to walk out of the mausoleum, so Elijah called out to him. "Where are you going?"

Klaus turned and walked backwards. "Enlist some humans to pose as a locating spell." He turned back around. "Mind joining me, Kol?"

Kol sighed with a nod before following Klaus' steps.

* * *

Gwen sighed with worry as she sneaked a peek at her phone, receiving updates on the situation from Kol. She had no time to waste at all, a deadline being placed. She had to hurry Davina along and finish the spell that would unlink Hayley and her baby from Sophie. Gwen put her phone away and stood from the edge of Davina's bed to stand next to the young witch who was trying to undo the spell on the knot Elijah gave her. The knot was on the table and Davina had her hands hovering above it.

"Focus," Gwen told Davina.

Davina nodded and was determined to try once more. "Okay."

"Deep breaths," Gwen said as Davina closed her eyes to concentrate. "I know you can do this. Pace yourself, but I'd like to go to Elijah and demand a spell you want for next time."

Davina nodded as she took a deep breath. "Phesmatos, Omnio Ligor Coldate Sangorium." Davina groaned out of frustration as she threw away a paper she had drawn on.

"Don't worry," Gwen said as she smiled at Davina, who was now pacing. "We just need to be patient." Gwen caught movement from the corner of her eye and saw Kol leaning on the doorway that led into Davina's room. "Kol?"

"Hello, darling," Kol greeted Gwen as Davina whipped around to face Kol, who was not allowed to enter the room without Davina's consent. Kol's eyes met Davina's. "I understand you're the young Davina Claire."

"Who are you?" Davina asked as she glowered at Kol.

"A neglected boyfriend," said Kol.

"This is Kol Mikaelson," Gwen introduced Kol to Davina. "He's Elijah and Klaus' younger brother, and my boyfriend."

"Just need to borrow her for a tick," Kol said as he smirked at Davina. "Such a pity that your raw talent is wasted cooped up in this room."

"Kol," Gwen warned. "I'll meet you outside in a sec." Kol nodded and left the room. Gwen turned to Davina with a sheepish smile on her lips. "I need to go see what he wants before he stirs up trouble."

Davina nodded. "You're coming back, right?"

"I promise," said Gwen. "Keep practicing while I'm gone." She then left the room and met Kol out in the hall, away from Davina and prying ears. "What's going on? How is Hayley?"

"Elijah, Bekah and Sophie are with her trying to bring the fever down," Kol explained as he led her away from Davina's room. "Nik and I are waiting for Agnes to arrive."

Gwen stopped when a feminine voice reached her ears. " _You made a deal with him?_ "

"She's here," Gwen told Kol.

"Get Davina to hurry up on that unlinking spell," Kol told Gwen and kissed her temple before watching her return to Davina. He then made his way to the center of the church, only to find his brother standing next to Father Kieran as they both stared at Agnes with handcuffs on her wrists, along with a few others that were her followers.

* * *

"She's burning up," Elijah said as he removed his tie and jacket. Hayley sat at the edge of the pool that was part of the mansion with a blanket around her shoulders. Sophie was working fast on an herb to slow down Hayley's fever, which Rebekah helped to provide by fetching the ingredients from Katie's shop. "We need to do this now." He then ran over to Hayley.

"Get her in the water," Sophie told Elijah, seconds away from finishing her herb.

Elijah jumped into the pool without caring about still being clothed. Hayley removed the blanket that was around her shoulders before she allowed Elijah to help her get into the pool as the temperature of her body rose, weakening her as pain shot throughout her body. Hayley exhaled in relief as the cool water soothed the heat of her body, but it was slowly rising once more. And she kept a hand over the small bump that was growing in her abdomen.

"I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help," Rebekah said to Sophie, feeling useless as she watched her niece warm up to her death and she wanted the child safe from harm.

"Her temperature is sky high," Sophie said as she finished her herb. "And the water, with the help of the herbs, should cool us down." She walked into the pool and presented the small mug to Hayley where she stored the herb. "Drink this." Hayley immediately took the herb with her free hand, the other one wrapped around Elijah's shoulders to have some balance. Sophie then directed her attention to Elijah. "You're gonna have to get her heart rate down."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Elijah asked, not knowing what to do.

"Hold her," said Sophie. "It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

Rebekah shifted from one foot to another as she texted Gwen to hurry up. "This is never gonna work."

"Davina will break that link," Elijah said as he scooped up Hayley in his arms as she panted from the heat. He brought her deeper into the water to help her temperature go down or remain the same, at least until she was unlinked from Sophie. "Miss Gwen is there to ensure it, we just need time."

* * *

Gwen cleared her throat after receiving a text from Rebekah to hurry things up, since midnight was approaching. She put her phone away and approached Davina while trying not to sound so suspicious. The young witch sat on the bed as she went through Esther's pages once more to try to understand the spell to unknot the Sanguinem Knot that linked Sophie to Hayley and her baby.

"Want to try again before I leave?" Gwen asked Davina as she stood at the end of the bed. "I don't think one more try will hurt."

"You're right," Davina said as she left her bed and walked over to where the knot was. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind before picking up the knot to hold in both of her hands. Gwen stood behind Davina and watched as the young girl tried the spell once more. She took another deep breath before she closed her eyes. "Phesmatos, Omnio Ligata Soluto."

* * *

Hayley groaned and felt her throat closing up, splashing some water. "Oh, I can't breathe."

"Okay, take long deep breaths," Elijah said as he held her body close to his chest. He tried to lock eyes with her frantic eyes as her heart beat too fast for his liking. "Hayley, look at me." His tone was serious but gentle, and she turned her eyes to meet his calm ones. "Long, deep breaths. Just focus on the sound of my voice." Hayley nodded as her breathing calmed and leaned back on the water with Elijah keeping her on the surface. "You'll be ok. You'll be ok." But he said this to himself mostly.

* * *

"Come on," Gwen mumbled to herself as she watched Davina repeat the spell with the knot in both of her hands. She looked at the clock in her phone, moments away from striking midnight. She looked up to watch Davina.

"Phesmatos, Omnio Ligata Soluto," Davina said as she began to run her hands along the rope of the knot. "Vingulia Cordit…" A clock nearby went off, signaling the arrow hitting twelve.

Gwen ran a hand through her hair in desperation as she watched Davina continue the spell. Gwen gasped in relief while Davina smiled, and the both of them watched the knot undo itself in midair. The clock was not even done ringing, but the spell was done and the link severed. Gwen only hoped that Davina had done it in time, so she quickly texted Rebekah to tell her about Hayley and immediately received a text that told her that everything was all right and that the unlinking spell worked.

* * *

"I just felt it lift," Sophie said as she looked towards the sky, while Hayley took deep and even breaths to calm her mind. The werewolf was only glad that she still felt the life of her child within her.

Rebekah sighed in relief, especially when the sound of her niece's heartbeat reached her ears and Elijah's. Hayley panted and swam out of Elijah's arms to stand in front of him, her eyes looking up to him with a hand on his shoulder. Elijah watched as Sophie took a pin from her hair and made an incision in her hand for evidence that she was truly unlinked from Hayley. Elijah took the hand Hayley had on his shoulder and did not find the incision Sophie did on her hand reflecting on Hayley's. Rebekah's curiosity appeared when she saw Elijah and Hayley share a rather prolonged look between them, but said nothing about it.

"Come on," Elijah said as he steered Hayley to get out of the pool. "Let's go."

"Elijah," Sophie said, and Elijah turned to the Deveraux witch. "As soon as your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes." Elijah sighed. "I know you don't owe me anything, but please don't let him kill her." Elijah was out of the pool in the blink of an eye and picked up his jacket. "Elijah," Sophie tried once more to get verbal confirmation that the Original vampire will not allow Agnes to die. "She's our only access to the power we need to survive. Promise me that you'll stop him."

Elijah took his phone from his jacket and dialed Klaus' number, his call answered after the first ring. "It's me. Where are you?"

" _Kol and I are merely keeping Agnes some company,_ " Klaus answered.

"Don't hurt her," said Elijah. "I'll be there shortly." He hung up the call and looked to a nervous Sophie. At his nod, she exhaled in relief. "I'll make you one last promise. I won't let my brother kill Agnes." Sophie nodded gratefully and watched Elijah leave. She made her way out of the pool, but was stopped when Hayley gripped her arm in a tight hold.

"I know you were just using me to save your people," Hayley said in a calm tone as Sophie avoided looking at the werewolf, "but try it again, I'll kill you." And Sophie knew this was all the warning she was going to get.

* * *

"The unlinking worked," Rebekah said as she entered the study where Elijah was finishing getting dressed after removing his wet clothes. She was hopeful that Elijah would heed her words and leave behind all the trouble that was New Orleans; the city was plagued with too many secrets that needed to remain buried. "Maybe now we can make plans—"

"Not now, Rebekah," Elijah interrupted her as he went to leave the room to meet with Klaus and Kol at St. Anne's. "Can we discuss this when I return?"

"I won't be here when you return," she said, and this had him stop at the doorway to turn around and lock eyes with her.

Elijah frowned at her. "That sounds like a goodbye."

"I guess it is," Rebekah sighed as tears gathered in her eyes from having to let go of everything that was once a home for her family. "I only came to New Orleans to make sure you were safe." She took a shuddering breath as Elijah's eyes remained set and cool. "You are." She chuckled mirthlessly. "I thought that I might be able to convince you to come with me, but here you are, rushing off into whatever Klaus and Marcel and the witches have cooked up, and I finally get it." She gulped down a lump that had begun to form in her throat that caused her voice to break. "You'll never leave this city." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought to keep her voice steady. "You'll never leave Klaus. Weny and Kol won't leave unless they _both_ agree to leave."

Elijah sighed and approached his sister. "Then you should stay."

"This thing that you and Klaus and Marcel have, I want no part of it," she said, her cheeks wet with her tears. Elijah hated those tears on his sister's cheeks that used to be so high up from smiling, but they stopped affecting him the way they used to when they had been human. "I just want to be free."

Elijah understood what that truly meant; she only wanted to be free from the chains her family placed on her, but feared disappointment from running away. She wanted to not be judged or persecuted for only wanting to do something with her life that her family couldn't ruin, because it was family that always somehow ruined her chances at a happy life. And Elijah understood all of that, but his duty to his family kept him from _truly_ understanding this of Rebekah.

"Well, then go," said Elijah. He placed a kiss on her cheek and smiled at her. "You are free."

He then left her to go meet with his brothers, but Rebekah knew he still did not understand; none of her family did. She wiped away her tears and was determined to continue her farewells, she only had one more to go to, if only to have someone with her when she left town. She knew it was futile to talk to Klaus into leaving. There was Kol and Gwen, but they followed one another, and right now they both seemed fine with staying in New Orleans for a while longer. Maybe her old lover would be interested to accept her offer to leave town, or she hoped he did.

* * *

"Well, that was fun," Gwen told Davina, the latter sitting down on her bed with a wide smile still present on her lips. Gwen approached her and sat on the edge of the bed. "This was a great step for you, Davina." Gwen found she disliked lying to the young girl that dreamed of a much better life than the one she had, but she promised herself that she'd make sure Davina would be kept safe. She honestly cared for the girl that reminded her so much of her human past and her younger sister. "I need go, but I promise to come back or give me a call whenever you feel like it."

"Thank you," Davina said, but she seemed to have something she wanted to say.

Gwen playfully frowned at her. "What is it?"

"It's about your sister," said Davina. "Maybe we can try contacting her sometime."

Gwen sighed with a smile on her lips. "That would be great, Davina." She patted Davina's hand and stood up. "I'll see you around."

Davina said her goodbyes and Gwen left her, closing the door to her room behind her. She made her way down the stairs that led to the attic and found where everyone seemed to have gathered. She found Klaus sitting on the altar with Kol next to him. She saw Father Kieran with his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Agnes. Agnes sat on a row of pews, while her followers sat on others; all of them wearing handcuffs.

"This looks morbid," Gwen said, announcing her presence as she approached Kol and Klaus. "I thought things were said and done."

"The link's broken?" Klaus asked as a smirk appeared on his lips.

Gwen nodded. "Yes."

"You're a piece of work, Agnes," Klaus said from where he sat on the altar, while Kol inspected the Needle of Sorrows. "But guess what." He jumped off the altar and stood next to Father Kieran as they both stared down at the witch. "I'm quite a piece of work myself. You know, at the suggestion of my dear brother"—he motioned to Kol with a wave of his hand as the younger left the Needle at the altar and joined his brother—"I contemplated leaving bits of you artfully arranged outside your family's tomb." Ages only glared at the hybrid. "I thought it would leave a fitting message." He blurred over to Agnes and got her on her feet with their faces inches apart. "Don't touch my family," he growled.

"Are we eating her or not?" Kol asked, getting frustrated.

"Leave her." At Elijah's calm voice, Klaus turned Agnes around and wrapped his hand around her neck to face Elijah. "I gave my word." He stood some feet away from Klaus with his hands behind his back. His arrival caused everyone else to stand on their feet in alert.

"You tend to give your word at the most inopportune times, brother," Klaus said as he scowled at his older brother.

"We're only having a bit of fun, 'Lijah," said Kol.

"We've been doing things your way all day," Klaus said as the irritation that had built over the entire day finally reached its peak. "Come on." He smirked as his grip on Agnes' neck tightened, frightening the Elder. "Just one little snap, and it's toodle-loo, Agnes." She whimpered in his grip.

"Nik, let her go," Gwen said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We're in a church for Pete's sake."

"She deserves it!" Klaus argued, but kept his eyes on Elijah.

Gwen groaned. "You're such a child."

"Niklaus, do not make another move," Elijah said as he slowly walked to where his brother stood with Agnes tucked against his chest, ready to have her neck snapped. "You have asked for my forgiveness." He continued to advance on Klaus. "I will grant you that forgiveness, but do not make me break my word."

Excruciating seconds passed as Gwen watched Klaus and Elijah stare at one another, waiting for who would stand down first. She stood next to Kol as they waited for someone to lose their head. Finally, Klaus slowly uncurled his fingers from around Agnes' neck and stepped away from her with his hands raised up and a mocking smile on his lips.

"My noble brother," Klaus said and dropped his hands to his side. "How's that for personal growth, eh? Still, it is just like you to spoil my fun."

"That's it?" Kol asked, having expected more action.

"Not necessarily," Elijah said as he stared at Agnes.

Gwen shrieked and grabbed onto Kol's arm out of reflex with one hand and covered her mouth with the other when she saw Elijah rip out the heart of one of the warlocks, the body dropping on the floor. He dropped the heart before speeding over to the next warlock and throwing him a few feet away after removing his heart. He grabbed the last warlock's heart and threw the body a few feet into the air. The body fell down hard a few seconds later on top of some pews. Only a yelp of pain was heard from each of them, but nothing more. Elijah presented himself to Agnes with a heart in each hand as the witch watched on in fright. Klaus and Kol shared a knowing look as Elijah dropped the hearts with a splat. He removed the handkerchief in the front pocket of his jacket.

"I swore you would not die by either of my brothers' hands," Elijah said as he wiped off some of the blood that coated his hands. He approached Agnes and threw the handkerchief away. "I said nothing of my own." He blurred over to Agnes and grabbed her by her neck, locking eyes with her. "No one hurts my family and lives." He snapped her neck with a twist of his wrist as he continued to glare at her lifeless body. "No one." He sighed and adjusted his jacket before looking to his brothers. "Care for a drink?"

"I'm in," Kol agreed as he grabbed Gwen's hand in his.

Klaus nodded. "Why not?"

"You guys go ahead," Gwen said, causing their heads to turn to her. "I just want to go home, get to bed and put this night behind me." She smiled up at Kol. "I'll call when I get there." She pecked his lips and carefully made her way around the bodies and pools of blood of the dead witches. "I'll see you home, boys."

* * *

"Never thought you had it in you, 'Lijah," Kol said as he took a sip from his glass of scotch. He sat with his older brothers on a booth quite far from the bar. It was almost closing time, but they had enough time to order once drink. Kol and Elijah clinked glasses, while Klaus stared at Camille as she went around the bar. "Always the moral one."

"We can't always relay on those," said Elijah, "especially when family fails to value them." Kol and Klaus frowned at this as they stared at Elijah. The oldest of the three took a sip of his drink before looking to Kol. "We failed you as a family and I ask you to forgive us." Kol tensed, not having predicted this would happen. "You don't have to do it now, but I ask you to think about it." He then looked to Klaus, who was also tense and uncomfortable with the situation.

Klaus sighed when he noticed Kol staring at the glass in his hands. "I should have done more," he said and finished his drink. "I'm sorry for not even giving you a proper burial."

Kol chuckled. "Right, my ashes in a coffin."

"We're lucky that you have woman as wonderful as Miss Gwen by your side," Elijah remarked as he also finished his drink. "I _am_ glad you're not dead, brother."

"Thanks," he sighed, somewhat glad that the air about that topic was cleared, not that he was anywhere near fully forgiving his siblings, but it was a start. "But as heartfelt as this apology is, it's not enough."

Elijah nodded. "I know, but I hope it's a start." And Kol nodded at this.

"Good to have the Happy Homicidal Maniac back," Klaus said as he grinned, his dimples showing.

Kol smiled and finished his own drink. "Only to be dragged into your problems." He sighed as he grinned at his brothers. "I think I want to go home. I don't want Gwen needlessly worrying about me."

Kol and Elijah stood up just as the bar was announcing it was closing time. They both turned to Klaus. "I'll catch up with you in a second," he told them. They both nodded before taking their leave, glancing at the blonde that had Klaus' attention before they stepped out of the establishment.

* * *

Marcel huffed as he approached the mansion that had once been his home as well as his own personal hell. It had been the place where he had been born and raised as a slave, until he was taken in by Niklaus Mikaelson and his family. They had saved him from a life of slavery and gave him a chance at a better life, which he appreciated. He stared at the lit mansion after having picked up an apple that had fallen from the apple tree that grew near the mansion. He had left things sour with Rebekah when she asked him to leave with her and looked for Klaus to confirm some things that weighed in his mind, only to find that he was not staying in the Palace Royale. He saw Josh—one of his Nightwalkers—leaving the mansion after asking a brunette girl that seemed to be staying there where Klaus was.

He stood at the front door of the mansion and knocked. He waited for the door to be answered and heard a feminine voice say, "Oh, what the hell, Josh?"

"Hi there," Marcel greeted Hayley as she stood there with a blank look on her face. "I'm Marcel. I don't think we've met."

"Hayley," she said as she collected herself. "There, we've met." She then slammed the door closed and stepped away from the front door.

Marcel chuckled and turned around to leave, having not expected the very pregnant girl to shut the door in his face with as much sass as she could muster.

"What are you doing here?" He looked up and locked eyes with jade-green ones. He grinned at the blonde witch in front of him.

"Paying an overdue visit to the family," Marcel said as he approached Gwen, who squared her shoulders and looked quite defensive. "Easy, we haven't known each other for long." He raised his hands. "I just want some answers to innocent questions about Klaus."

"Ask him yourself," Gwen said as she went to go around him.

"Been wondering what you are, so we'll have to do this the hard way, it seems," Marcel said, but Gwen ignored him. Gwen shrieked when arms wrapped around her middle, but the sound was muffled when a bloody wrist was shoved into her mouth. "Blood down the hatch, in case you're mortal." She struggled against Marcel's hold on her frantically, but he snapped her neck before she could perform a single spell. "And a broken neck, if you're a vampire." He hoisted her up and threw her over his shoulder.

This had gone far easier than he thought.

* * *

Kol and Elijah walked up the porch steps that led to the front door of the mansion, both exhausted from the night's events. Neither spoke much during their journey home, but they did share some anecdotes of the good memories of their past. They talked amicably; for once, they were not being hostile towards one another, considering that happens a lot more times than being civil with one another.

"Things will only get more difficult," Kol said as they stood on the porch. "You know that, right?"

Elijah nodded. "I know." He cleared his throat. "Kol, if you're having trouble with the hunger, I can help you."

"I would appreciate that very much," Kol said in all sincerity. "I don't want to hurt Gwen, and I most certainly won't give her up because of this."

"Good," Elijah said as he smiled at his younger brother. He looked down and frowned when his eyes focused on a phone on the floor. He kneeled down and picked it up before he stood up. "What do we have here?"

Kol took the familiar phone and unlocked it to find a picture of him giving Gwen a big kiss on her cheek with the Eiffel Tower behind them. "This is Gwen's phone."

Kol and Elijah shared a look before they sped into the mansion, looking all over for Gwen and found Hayley was also missing. They searched the whole mansion before Elijah called Rebekah. They both hoped she knew where Gwen and Hayley where, only to be disappointed when Rebekah had no idea where they were. Klaus chose to arrive at that moment, causing his brothers to turn to him.

"Marcel was here," Klaus said, to which Elijah's eyes narrowed and Kol's face hardened in anger.

* * *

 **End of the chapter! I know there was a lot of intermissions in this chapter, but they were necessary. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and left you guys with a little cliffhanger on Gwen's part. I hope you all either Fave, Follow or Review your thoughts. I like fiding inspiration in your opinios and they always somehow help guide me as I write the story.**

 **Again, hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey, guys! I present to you another lengthy chapter with little Gwen and Kol interaction, I hope you guys can forgive me for lack of fluff between them, but there will be so much more of it in the future. I just need to also focus on others with 3rd person point of view and such. I hope you guys can endure this, but this is still focused on Gwen/Kol.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

* * *

Marcel patiently sat on a sofa as he stared at Gwen's limp form chained on a chair in the middle of the room. Just for good measure, he chained her arms to the armrest of the chair and both of her legs to the legs of the chair with another chain around her shoulders to keep her completely tied to the chair. Her broken neck had already healed the second he arrived at the Abattoir, all that was left was to wait for her to wake up to answer the questions that plagued his mind. He sighed as he took a sip of Gwen's blood, comfortable in the extremely quiet room with no one else to accompany him. He had taken some of her blood after having chained her to the chair. He had to admit that her blood intoxicating, very addicting and a taste he felt that was made for him.

Gwen groaned as she sucked in air into her longs and her head righted itself. Her golden hair fell away from her face as her eyes adjusted to the room from their blurry haze. She yelped when she felt the pain in her neck receding. She exhaled and looked up to find Marcel sitting across from her, drinking her blood. She wasn't going to lie, but she was afraid of what would happen next, not that she was going to let him see her afraid. She wasn't looking forward to more pain.

"I really hate having my neck snapped," Gwen said as she rolled her neck to adjust it better.

"Sorry for the accommodations," Marcel said as he pointed to the chair Gwen sat on. "I at least gave you the comfiest chair in the room."

Gwen huffed. "I feel honored."

"I thought it would take longer for you to wake up," Marcel said as he leaned forward on his knees. "Your neck healed quickly, too quickly, so that rules out human and witch and werewolf."

Gwen scoffed. "You're really testing your luck here, Marcellus."

"Now that's just rude," said Marcel, not liking that she knew about him. "You know more about me than I know about you." He shrugged before he downed the rest of Gwen's blood in one gulp. "I just want to even things up between us."

"What do you want to know?" asked Gwen. "I do wonder if you have a death wish."

"Sorry about that," Marcel said as he stood up and walked over to her. "Your blood is really something." Before Marcel could say anything else, Gwen tilted her head to the side and puked out the little vampire blood Marcel had her drink before he broke her neck. "What the…"

"That still happens," Gwen muttered as she spat the blood on her lips into one of the buckets. "I thought I was done with that when I was a ghost."

"What's happening?" Marcel asked, thinking he damaged her in some way and that was a sure way to take him to a prolonged grave.

"Don't worry," Gwen said as she noticed how panicked he looked at her having expelled the vampire blood from her system, or some of it. "My body refuses to let me turn into a vampire, let alone ingest vampire blood." Marcel still looked confused as Gwen emptied more blood out of her system and onto the floor. "It's a way of keeping my body pure."

"I know you were a ghost," Marcel said as he paced around her. "I just want to know what you came back as."

Gwen sighed. "I prefer to keep you guessing." She looked up at him as he stood next to her. "Besides, once Kol finds out I'm missing, he'll torture you for the rest of your pathetic life."

"Marcel," a follower of Marcel's said as they stepped into the room, interrupting whatever Marcel was going to say to Gwen. Marcel looked up to the other vampire, his eyes asking what the other wanted. "It's starting."

"Be there in a sec," Marcel said and dismissed the vampire before turning back to Gwen. "The whole room is cloaked to keep you hidden from your psychotic boyfriend and his family of sociopaths; so don't even think about yelling. Also"—he picked up a piece a cloth and shoved it into her mouth, silencing her shriek before wrapping duct tape over her mouth—"just in case you actually happen to be a witch. I rather be cautious than underestimating you, considering you survived Klaus for years and you're the girlfriend of his mass-murdering brother." He smirked down at her. "I feel tonight is gonna be a good night." He then left the room, but not before leaving someone to watch the door.

Gwen calmed her breathing as she focused on getting air through her nose and into her lungs. Water gathered in her eyes from having the cloth almost gagging her, which left her hoping that Kol or Klaus would find her soon. Her mind was already thinking about a way to escape, but she needed to be patient and careful.

* * *

A party was in full swing in the Abattoir with every vampire that was aligned to Marcel present, including Josh as he walked around the place fascinated by the amount of vampires in the large space where Marcel hosted his fundraisers. There were drinks and blood for everyone to enjoy as they waited for Marcel to signal the beginning of the night.

Marcel opens the French doors that led out to the balcony with the majority of his vampires on the first floor below having a good time. He smirked as he placed his hands on the railing, feeling quite good that he somehow felt he had the upper hand against Klaus and the rest of the Original siblings.

"Ladies, gentlemen," Marcel began and drew the attention of everyone to him. "Welcome to fight night!" Everyone cheered or applauded or both in their excitement, to which Marcel chuckled at. "And the first rule of fight night is: the vampire left standing at the end of the night is one step closer to the inner circle. And one of these"—he raised his right hand where his daylight ring was—"a daylight ring." People murmured below him. "If you can impress me with a little ultra-violence, you too can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face. All you gotta do is kick a little ass." There was cheer once more. "So here we go."

People scattered as they made space for the fight to begin between the vampires competing for a daylight ring. A few men were already shirtless and ready to fight, while women dressed sporty to help their flexibility.

"Our first two contenders," Marcel said as he called out to the two vampires that would start off fight night. "Felicia and Otto," he called out and people cheered for the brunette female vampire and the bigger male vampire as they stood in the circle made for them to fight in.

Everyone followed the fight as Otto there the first punch, knocking Felicia to the floor. She was smaller than the bald vampire she was fighting and it looked like he had the upper hand as he continued to pound on her without giving her a chance to retaliate. Felicia found her moment and fought back, locking her legs around Otto's neck before snapping it to let the other vampire's body to fall limp on the ground. And everyone else cheered with her and her victory.

"Damn, girl, not bad," Marcel said in all honestly, impressed with the vampire's skills.

Not a second later, Felicia's head rolled on the ground and her body fell on the floor with a thud, eliciting shocked gasps form everyone and causing Marcel to tense as he gripped the railings hard. His eyes locked with the brown ones that belonged to one Kol Mikaelson as the latter chuckled after having swung his bat at Felicia's head. Silence filled the room, except for Kol's chuckling.

"I have to say, I'm a little disappointed with these so called competitions," Kol said as he paced around the circle of vampires much younger than him. "I prefer the times when there was more gore and creativity when defeating your opponent with only nets and swords." He looked up at Marcel with a malicious smirk on his lips that made Marcel nervous, but he needed to keep calm to not give anything away. "The retiarius gladiators knew how to make a spectacle." He raised his bloodied bat and pointed it at Marcel before lowering it. "You can only imagine what I'll do to you with a mere bat."

Marcel breathed deeply as he saw his own people turn their eyes to him, waiting for his response for Kol's challenge. He knew better than to get into a fight with the only Mikaelson that held little fondness over him, which made his death a sure guarantee. Kol broke one of his rules, but, like Klaus, he had no way of taking down the youngest Mikaelson brother. Him holding Gwen hostage only made his situation worse, but he already had a plan for that. He only hoped it worked, if only until he found a solution.

"May I ask what provoked such a reaction from you?" Marcel asked as he tested the waters.

Kol sighed as he mockingly pretended how sorry he felt. "I have a swell pity for the soul that dared to lay a hand on my Gwen." He shook his head at Marcel. "I have a feeling that very soul is yours, Marcellus."

Klaus appeared next to Kol, the latter glaring intensely at Marcel. "Easy, Kol," Klaus murmured for only his younger brother to hear before he looked around. "Good evening." He also glared at Marcel with his brother.

"What do either of you think you're doing?" Marcel asked as he stood firm and stared hard at the two Mikaelson brothers standing in the middle of the crowded first floor.

"It appears that we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs as Kol so eloquently said," Elijah said as vampires stepped aside to allow him access to where Klaus and Kol stood. "We've come here for the girl and a Miss Gwen Pierson. Give them to us," he sighed as he looked around before looking up at Marcel. "Or I will sit back and watch as my eager brothers tear apart your leeches, starting with you."

"You three got a lot of nerve coming into my home and making demands," Marcel said as he kept himself cool and collected. He may not have the brunette girl he saw early in the night, but he did have the other one hidden in one of the many living rooms of the Abattoir.

Klaus huffed out a small chuckle. "Your home, is it?"

"The girls," Elijah said as he raised his tone of voice. "I will not ask again."

"I assume you're talking about Hayley," Marcel said as he raised his hand a bit in the air. "Yay high, dark hair, bitchy attitude?" He grinned in curiosity, amused at how much they cared about the brunette. "Who is she, anyway?"

"She's an old friend," Klaus answered, not wanting to give anything away to a crowd of chatty vampires. "You know how sentimental I am about old friends."

"Well, I ain't got Hayley, and before you start whining, I did pay her and your bestie a little visit earlier tonight," Marcel confessed. "I was feeling nostalgic." He shrugged nonchalantly. "So I took a trip out to the Plantation where I used to be a slave," he said as he also directed his words to every other vampire in the room. "And imagine my surprise when I realized that the Original family of vampires had taken up residence. Your girl Hayley answered the door. We exchanged hellos. That was it." He tried his luck with his next words. "You don't believe me, look around. Hell, I'll even help you find her, but the question that I'd ask is, if Hayley isn't here, then where is she?"

Unbeknownst to all of them that a resident of Mystic Falls was the one who had a hand in Hayley's kidnapping and was already deep in the bayou with the pregnant werewolf.

Kol hummed as he nodded his head. "Still, I can't help but wonder how you haven't mentioned Gwen or what happened to her."

"Yeah, she was a whole other situation," Marcel began to explain, which only served to fuel Kol's and Klaus' fury at the very thought of Gwen being harmed. "I take full responsibility of her disappearance."

Before he could even think of uttering another word, Kol was on the balcony with him and pinning him against a pillar with his free hand wrapped around Marcel's neck. Kol held Marcel a foot above the floor with eyes filled with anger as Marcel choked for air. Klaus snapped the neck of two vampires that were ready to pounce on Marcel's defense, while Elijah snapped the neck of three other vampires, which made the rest halt any other attempt so as to not try their luck.

"Easy," Marcel choked out as Kol tightened his grip on the younger vampire's neck.

"I talk, you listen," Kol said a little too calm when compared to how he actually felt. "If a single hair on her pretty head is harmed, I will put you at the stake and burn you alive." He cleared his throat. "I wouldn't let you die, but I'd do it over and over again as you watch me decimate the supposed kingdom you claim to have built." He leaned closer to Marcel's face. "If you don't tell me about my darling's whereabouts after I release you, you will find yourself without a heart and I'll move on to the next."

Marcel nodded and sucked in air the second Kol released him without backing away to give Marcel some space. "I'll tell you where she is," Marcel said to Kol after standing on his feet. He then shifted his eyes to Klaus and Elijah below. "And I'll help you locate your girl." He looked back to a smirking Kol.

"That sounds perfect, whelp," said Kol.

* * *

"Not the most attractive community, are they?" Elijah commented as he sat across from Klaus on chairs with a table provided by Marcel. Kol refused to take Marcel's offer of a chair as he paced in front of his brothers, his hands itching to end the lives that ogled at him and his brothers from afar.

Kol smirked. "They rather look like frightened rats."

"You do realize they can hear you," Klaus said as he chuckled.

"You do realize I don't care," Kol and Elijah said simultaneously.

Elijah looked up at Kol as he took the glass of scotch that was also offered to them. "Sit down, brother," he told Kol, his pacing brother making him even more irritated with the situation. "Calm yourself." Kol exhaled heavily before he heeded Elijah's words as he slumped on the chair. "Marcel knows better than to bring any harm upon Miss Gwen, unless he is willing to risk his own life."

"You know, Elijah," Marcel said as he approached the three Original brothers with two vampires trailing behind him. "I liked you better in that box." Elijah grinned up at Marcel in his amusement. Marcel then looked to Kol. "I also prefer you with a dagger in your chest." He then looked to Klaus. "But, Klaus, my sire, you I owe the world, and I always show respect to my elders." While Kol rolled his eyes, Klaus plastered a grin on his lips to not show weakness. "If your special lady friend is missing, you can benefit from the help of a witch." Two vampires brought Sabine to where Marcel stood in front of the Originals. "And since I control all the witches in this town, I'll grant you one little locator spell." Sabine brushed away the vampires' hands off her as she glared at Marcel. "Sabine is the best guide in the Quarter. You need to find someone; I guarantee she's your girl." He then turned to leave, but Klaus stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked as his mind turned to Gwen. If Marcel thought he was sly enough to direct all of the attention to Hayley to make them forget about Gwen, he was sorely mistaken. Marcel turned to mockingly smile at the three Mikaelsons. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I hate to cut this short, but the sun is coming up soon," Marcel explained. "My Nightwalkers need to get inside, and I've got a city to run." He then turned to Kol. "I also have a funeral to plan." He tried to leave once more, but Kol appearing in front of him stopped him from taking another step. "Come on, I was just messing with you. I remember when you were more fun to mess with."

"Which is why I remember you always tucking your tail between your legs at the first sign of aggression," Kol shot return, his face blank as he stared at Marcel straight in the eyes. "Where is she?"

"Marcel, my pupil and former ward," Klaus said as he stood up and approached Marcel. He was smirking as he placed his hands on Marcel's shoulders, eyes fierce and intense as they stared at Marcel's brown ones. "You are correct in owing me the world, but make no mistake. If any harm comes to Gwen, I will burn this city just like Mikael did before me." His smirk grew. "I did learn a few tricks from the old fool."

Marcel brushed off Klaus' hands and reached for a GPS mobile phone and gave it to Kol. "Here," he said and Kol frowned at the map of the French Quarter with a red dot on one corner and a blue one at another corner. "Red is you and blue is some of my guys moving her around." He saw Kol glaring at him, so he was quick to provide Kol with some fake relief. "They are ordered to keep her safe at all times; they're just moving her around a little bit, so you need to catch up to them."

"She's safe?" asked Klaus.

"She is," Marcel said as he avoided promising them anything. "I tried talking to her, but she's a scrappy thing and quite feisty, so I moved her to keep my guys safe."

Kol smirked at that. "That's my girl."

"I'll leave you to track down both of your lost sheep," said Marcel.

Kol looked up at Marcel as he smirked. "In case you're pulling one over me, for every hour I don't have Gwen in my arms, I will kill one of your precious Nightwalkers."

Marcel knew he was playing with fire, but this was a risk he had to take. He knew he was putting the lives of his people in danger by keeping Gwen captive, but he needed to have something to trump the Mikaelsons when the time came. And he knew that the blonde he had upstairs had to have something that would give him an advantage over the Originals, if only to keep being the ruler of New Orleans with the life he built for himself and every other vampire that placed their trust in him.

"Go find her, we'll take care of Hayley," Klaus told Kol, and the younger nodded before he disappeared with Marcel leaving a moment later.

Elijah looked up at Sabine. "Can you find her?"

"I can try," said Sabine.

* * *

Klaus and Elijah had gone to the bayou the minute they had a location that Sabine provided on Hayley's whereabouts. They easily found a lead that Klaus was not happy about when he caught the scent of Tyler Lockwood mixed with Hayley's scent. It made sense that Tyler was the one stirring up trouble, but Klaus thought the young hybrid would be smarter than to walk into a city he built. Klaus and Elijah trailed through the swamp as they searched for Hayley after having discovered the abandoned truck Tyler used to take him and Hayley to the bayou to small village that was the remains of the werewolves of New Orleans.

Hayley had her own problems with Tyler as he rambled on about needed to test out something that she found crazy. She was actually frightened of her former friend that she had tried to help when they lived near the mountains. She only hoped that she'd be able to slip away unharmed or that she'd be found by any Original.

Kol was on another part of the bayou, but was much closer to the city. He was running around the bayou as he tried to catch up to Gwen and her captors. He knew better than to trust Marcel, but he'd deal with him after he made sure Gwen was safe. This running around the bayou was getting tedious and frustrating. Every time Kol found himself close to Gwen's location, the dot that was Gwen moved away in a blink of an eye. Kol was too angry to even think straight as he continued to chase after Gwen.

Elijah, Klaus and Kol had given Marcel enough space to move around and do some business without an Original trailing his every move. He knew he had little time, but he took care of his renegade vampire, Josh, and dropped him off for Davina to work on removing Klaus' compulsion from the young vampire. He now needed to focus on getting information out of Gwen before returning her to Kol. And that left Rebekah, who had left the city after having spent some of the night with him, but he wouldn't put it past her to turn around, if her brothers had called her.

Marcel was walking out of Davina's room and leaving the church, but a presence made him pause halfway out of the church. "I thought you were leaving town," he said as he grinned. "Couldn't stay away, huh?" He then found himself being shoved to the ground with a heel inches away from his neck as Rebekah towered over him.

"I was half past Louisiana when I found out you invaded our home," Rebekah said as she frowned down at Marcel. "What have you done with my best friend and Hayley?"

"You're so hot when you're angry," Marcel said, but that only had him being thrown high up against a wall before he dropped hard on the floor.

"You used me!" Rebekah raged.

Marcel stood up and sighed as he brushed himself off. "I'm pretty sure that was mutual."

"Beguiled by your charms, I slept with you like a fool," Rebekah ranted as her and Marcel approached one another, both still defensive. "I led you to our home, and then you took Gwen and Hayley."

"Whoa, I only took _one_ of them and it was just for fun," said Marcel. "I already sorted this out with your brothers, but it begs the question, why'd you come back?"

"Who did you take?" Rebekah asked, desperate to know which of her brothers she had to worry about the most, Klaus or Kol. "If Klaus or Kol learn it's my fault you found your way to the Plantation—"

"I took your little blonde mini you, only with less anger issues," Marcel explained with his hands up in surrender.

Rebekah's eyes widened. "Are you mad? Kol will tear you apart and do it right in front of me for good measure!"

"Hey, you really think I'd rat you out?" Marcel asked rhetorically as he reached up and placed a hand on Rebekah's cheek. "If you think that I'd ever in a thousand years do anything to hurt you, you got me confused to Klaus."

"All your charms and flirtations," Rebekah began, not the least bit phased by Marcel's attempts at persuasion as she smacked away his hand from her cheek, "simply prove you're every bit the liar and manipulator that Klaus is."

Her words struck a chord in Marcel. "Is that what you really think?"

"By all means, prove me wrong," said Rebekah.

"Fine, come on," Marcel said and turned around to lead Rebekah to their destination. If he wanted his plan to have Klaus and his brothers back off, he needed Rebekah on his side, if only because he still had strong feelings for. "Something you need to see." His future with Rebekah was ruined by the interference of Klaus and lack of help from Elijah, but now had a chance to have all of that.

* * *

Kol grunted as he stopped zooming around the bayou, feeling like a cat chasing a mouse that is not there. He looked down at the GPS and found that Gwen' dot is still the same yards away from him every time he moved to catch up to her. He sighed and found he was being rather stupid at the current moment. Marcel was playing him somehow and it wasn't by using witches or he'd know, so that only left the only supernatural beings in New Orleans that was fast enough to outrun him with a head start.

"You think you're so sly, Marcellus," Kol said as he smirked down at the GPS. He memorized the location of Gwen's dot before placing the GPS on the forest floor. Instead of following a nonexistent mouse, he'll have to find one.

* * *

While Elijah watched over Hayley, Klaus dealt with Tyler and Kol continued to scour the bayou for Gwen, Marcel had taken Rebekah to the place that was now called The Garden. It was a prison he made where he punished vampires who had broken his rules. His prisoners were either bricked into a wall or buried in cement in the ground and left to desiccate for the duration of their sentences. It was a place that Marcel used to house those who betrayed him, not that it started out to be that. The only source of light for the prisoners was what little sunlight streamed from the ceiling and the few candles that were lighted by the guards Marcel placed to watch over the place.

Marcel signaled his guard to leave him as he entered the crypt-like place with Rebekah.

"What is this place?" Rebekah asked as she stared in horror at the heads that popped out of the ground.

"This is The Garden," Marcel answered as he motioned to the whole place. "It's where I punish vampires who break my rules, but a long time ago,"—he walked over to a wall and pulled out some rolled up blueprints hidden in a small hole—"it used to be something else." He unrolled the papers and showed the image to Rebekah. "Go on. Tell me what you see."

"Two stories," Rebekah began as she stared at the image of a house she found beautiful, "Greek columns, wraparound porch, high ceilings, transom windows." She sighed as she glanced up at Marcel. "It's lovely, so what?"

"So I designed it for you," said Marcel. "It was gonna be ours." At this, Rebekah gulped down the lump that was beginning to grow in her throat at the thought of having almost had a good life with a man that loved her as much as she loved him.

"That…" she cleared her throat as she looked around the place. "This was supposed to be our happily ever after?"

"Yours and mine," Marcel said as he stored up the blueprints once more. "But you flew the coop with Klaus. I already built the foundation for the place. I halted construction after you took off. Plan was to wait for you to return." He locked eyes with Rebekah. "You never did. So now it's where I bury the people who betray me."

"You could've come after me," Rebekah argued, not wanting to believe that she was the only one at fault who had ruined their happiness.

"You were with Klaus," Marcel defended himself. "I didn't know where. I didn't know if you still wanted to be with me." He knew that was a poor excuse, but it was the truth. Life after the Originals left town was pure chaos, and his mind was a wreck. "All you had to do was come home."

"It was more complicated than that," said Rebekah. "Not long after we left here, he put a dagger in my heart and stuck me in a box for ninety years. He stole a century from me like it was nothing."

"That's what he does, Rebekah," Marcel said as he tried to persuade the blonde Original. "Klaus will never be happy. He'll be damned if he lets anyone get something that he can't have."

"I know," said Rebekah. "I've been dancing to this song for a thousand years; all of my siblings and I have."

"Starting right now, you have a choice between the brother who takes away your happiness whenever he feels like it and the man who wants to give you everything you ever wanted," said Marcel.

Rebekah shook her head. "He will kill you in front of my eyes out of spite with Elijah following him as he always does and Kol to stay away from being daggered in a box."

"Not if we get rid of him first," said Marcel. "And I have the means to see it through."

* * *

"He hasn't moved," said one of three vampires as they stood on the outskirts of New Orleans. This one had a GPS mobile that displayed their location and that of Kol Mikaelson. The lack of movement from the red dot made him nervous. "Something has to be wrong."

"Take a breath, Matty," said another vampire, this one with blonde hair and blue eyes. "He's probably taking a break to give his old bones a chance to breathe."

"I'm with, Matty," said the only female of the group. "Marcel sent us to distract an Original vampire with the goal of finding his girlfriend, who we don't have. If he catches up to us and finds that we don't have her, we're dead and have nothing to bargain with."

"Marcel knows what he's doing," said the only one that was confident in Marcel's orders. "We have to trust him as we have done for years."

"Pity that your heads are the only thing that we'll be returning to him," Kol said as he announced his presence from standing on top of a boulder and leaning on his bat. "Such loyalty to a man who signed your death sentences, but I can't really blame you." He hopped off the boulder, which startled the three vampires. "You are blind fools to think he'd be able to protect you from me, considering how upset I am at the moment." He clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "I would have been ready to make a bargain for your lives, but you don't have my Gwen or know where she is, so that kind of settles it, doesn't it?"

"Wait!" said Matty as he raised his hands up. "Your girlfriend, she's at Marcel's locked up in a room."

"Shut up, Matty!" said the other male vampire.

"He plans on using her against you and your family," said the female, helping Matty to get out of this alive. "He said she will not be harmed."

Kol hummed. "You should learn how to make deals, darlings." He stretched his arms and smirked at the three vampires. "You first make sure that who you're dealing with has given his word not to kill you." The three vampires were frightened, knowing what was going to come next. "Alas, this generation has grown stupid." He sighed. "So, I'm sorry about this, you would have been great spies that brother needs, but I need to send a message."

* * *

"Do you know how many fools have tried to vanquish my brother?" Rebekah argued with Marcel, scared for his life, if he even made a move against Klaus. It never ended well for the opposing party and she had seen how bad it could be for Marcel. "If you stand against him, he will kill you, and it will be awful and bloody, and I will not stand around and watch."

Marcel saw her turn around to leave but sped over to her to keep her from leaving. "You forget I have a secret weapon—Davina, the most powerful witch in the last couple of centuries." Rebekah sighed at his innocence, considering the only reason Davina was so powerful was because she has nuclear energy that she cannot control. "What if she can find a way to kill him?"

Rebekah frowned at Marcel, now noticing he had no idea what Klaus' death would mean. "You don't know, do you?" Marcel's silence was her answer. "You can't kill Klaus, not without dying yourself. We learned it from the deaths of my brothers Kol and Finn." She began to pace. "If an Original dies, every vampire ever made from their line dies with him. Besides, Klaus has his own _immortal_ witch, a descendant of the most powerful witch in history." She was exasperated and defeated at the thought of even having a bit of hope of a life that Klaus can't control. "Even if you kill Klaus, he'll still win. It's been that way for a thousand years. That's his trick." She approached Marcel. "He always wins."

"There's another way," Marcel said as a plan began to build itself in his mind.

Rebekah sighed. "What would that be?"

"We bury him, down here forever," said Marcel, and he prepared himself to say the next thing that might set her off. "I still have your witch, Gwen, back home. We can use her as a bargaining ship for Elijah and Kol to fall in line with us against Klaus."

"Are you mad?" Rebekah shrieked. "This little chamber of horrors may work for your riffraff. But do you really think it will hold my brother? And Kol will kill you before he joins you, especially if you threaten Gwen." She then stopped herself and glared at him. "Ddi you hurt her?"

"Easy, she's safe, just locked up," Marcel explained before he sighed. "Isn't it worth the risk? You know I'm right. Klaus will never stop trying to control you."

"And I'm supposed to believe that after a century, suddenly, you're willing to risk death at his hands to be with me?"

"I want to defend my home," said Marcel. "I want to be free, and if that means I get to be with you, all the more reason to bury him. Now you tell me, what do you want?"

His question was making Rebekah put everyone at risk, including Gwen and Hayley. But she just wanted to be happy for once. If Marcel made sure Gwen and Hayley were to be safe from harm, she saw no harm in wanting to free herself from Klaus' clutches.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Again, sorry for lack of Gwen and Kol, but I will promise a whole lot of them in future chapters. I loved your reviews and they help me a lot when writing chapters. I am glad you guys have enjoyed the story so far and will continue to do so. Fave your love, Follow your likes and Review your thoughts and opinions.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hello, lovelies! I am psyched with having past the 100th Follower and I have all you readers to thank for that. It may not be much, but I am happy to see that people enjoy my story and give their time to read it. Thank you guys for this and I hope I continue to satisfy you all with my writing. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the rest that are to come.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

* * *

"You want to make a deal with me, you gotta offer me something," Marcel said from where he sat with one of his vampires standing beside him and Tyler Lockwood sitting on his own chair in front of him. The young hybrid sought Marcel in the local club vampires found refuge in during the day and fun during the night. "I already know about Hayley the werewolf girl and Gwen the immortal witch." Marcel already had what he needed to know and the hostage to keep him and his followers alive. "What else you got?"

"What if I told you that werewolf girl is carrying Klaus's child," Tyler said, ignorant of his former friend that had helped him when he was in need and indifferent to the child's fate. "And if that baby is born, it'll mean the end of the vampire species."

Marcel paused at this, but found no use for the information that Tyler provided. Even of the child was sired by Klaus, harming it was out of the question. He planned on taking Klaus out of the picture, but he was not going to harm a baby that had no idea what was going on outside of its mother's womb. Besides, he practically already had Rebekah on his side and she would rip his head off, if any harm comes to the mother and child.

* * *

Kol entered the mansion early in the morning, having spent the night drinking from humans and killing vampires that stood in his way. He was angry and needed to clear his mind, so he had gone on a blood binge to take away the worry he had for Gwen's safety. His clothes were covered in blood and blood was splattered across his face. He placed his bat against the wall and walked into the dining room where Rebekah and Klaus were having breakfast. But Rebekah was already storming out of the room and out of the mansion by the time Kol reached the table.

"Morning, Nik," Kol said as he walked over to the table and sat on the chair that Rebekah previously occupied, the maid taking her leave after Klaus dismisses her with a wave of his hand.

"Your mood looks sour with lack of mischief shining in your eyes, so it's safe to say you were not successful." Klaus offered him a glass of blood as he looked around. "Where's Gwen?"

"I was being played by the bloody piper," Kol said as he mockingly grinned. "Some vampires were playing decoy until I caught up to them with no Gwen in sight." He took a sip of the fresh blood in his glass. "Spent the night letting out some steam. And the lack of a scolding means our older brother has done something to earn your spite." He sighed as he plopped some food into his mouth. "So Elijah is playing house with the werewolf carrying your baby and a werewolf bite on his neck while out stuck in the bayou, courtesy from you, I assume." Klaus only glared at his younger brother. "We've both had a crappy time since yesterday, so what else ails you?"

"I think Rebekah will side with Marcel," said Klaus, which made Kol pause with a frown on his features. "She's lying to me in my very face and conspiring with the enemy." Kol chuckled, to which Klaus glared at. "What? You going to tell how unbelievably paranoid I am as well?" He sighed before sipping some blood. "Well, get in line."

"You know, Nik, you and I have got on and off over the centuries, but never truly gotten on," Kol said as he stared at his older brother dead in the eyes. "I know who you truly are, probably better than Elijah and Rebekah, because we're the same, except I am a better-looking bloke. And I am tired of being the outcast, so I will simply embrace whatever role is given to me."

Klaus rolled his eyes at this. "You _are_ family, Kol."

"Not the point right now," Kol said to continue on his train of thought. "Look, Elijah will always pretend to be the noblest in our family when he has done equally or worse actions when compared to ours. And I won't lie, I dislike him a great deal, but he is our brother." He cleared his throat. "I understand where Bekah's coming from, because you have taken time from me and punished me rather unfairly on many occasions." Klaus' face squared at this, not knowing where his brother was headed. Kol took a sip of blood as he took a deep breath. "I still find myself strangely grateful to you in some very, very, very strange way."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at this. "How come?"

"You gave me Gwen," Kol said before he cleared his throat, not used to showing weakness, especially to his family. "And I love her, Nik. That is how I know that you love that child already. Unlike our siblings, I don't need you to say it to know that."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" asked Klaus.

"I'm with you, brother," said Kol, which surprised Klaus. Out of all of his siblings, apart from Finn, he had not expected to Kol be one pledging allegiance to him when the rest of his siblings turn on him. Kol changed and Klaus noticed this. The old Kol would have come with chaos to New Orleans as old indiscretions resurface in his mind, but that was not the case. "I am with Gwen and you, until she longer is or you harm her."

"I would never," said Klaus.

"You better not," said Kol. "Now, Marcel is a problem. If Rebekah is siding with him, there is only one thing those two want when it comes to you." He picked another fruit and ate it. "They want you out of the picture, so that they can finally ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. They are plotting and they have Gwen. Still, I can't let you truly harm our sister more than you already have, since she's only doing this because she's desperate right now."

"All right," Klaus sighed, relieved that he at least had one sibling on his side. "What can your wicked mind conjure up for us to take back what is ours?"

Kol shrugged. "It's very simple, Nik." He watched Klaus glance at the front door after it was knocked on. "I'll make it quick before your session with the pretty bartender." He smirked, while Klaus rolled his eyes.

* * *

Gwen groaned in her seat after having spent the night on a chair. Her neck was sore and she was hungry. There were a few bathroom trips, but she barely had time to plot an escape before her neck was broken again and again. Her mouth was also numb from having a piece of cloth shoved into it with duct tape keeping it in place, which prevented her from chanting a spell. Her mind was a whirlwind, which it made it hard for her to concentrate on any spell. Kol was still teaching her, so it made the whole situation all the more complicated. And she couldn't reach for her necklace to ask Lilwen for help without being able to summon her.

The door to the room opened and Marcel walked in with an item wrapped in a blanket he kept tucked to his side. Gwen sighed as she watched him walk over to her and placed the blanket down on the coffee table in front of her. He pulled away the blanket and revealed three daggers that were meant to desiccate an Original, more specifically Elijah, Kol and Rebekah.

"A gift from Rebekah," Marcel said, and Gwen frowned at this. She wondered how he got his hand on the daggers that Klaus kept hidden. "She's on my side now and we're planning on burying Klaus in a special little place I like to call The Garden where all my betrayers and rule-breakers go to be punished." Gwen sucked in air through her nose at the thought of Rebekah not doing anything to help her, not able to believe that her friend would do such a thing. Marcel kneeled in front of her. "I promised Rebekah I wouldn't harm you, and I won't. I don't have a death wish, but your boyfriend is running around causing chaos after figuring out I sent him on a wild goose chase looking for you. He killed a dozen of my guys." Marcel sighed. "It's frustrating not being able to give them justice, especially with you here. But I have to work with what I have. Rebekah told me you despised Klaus siblings, and he will do it again. He will dagger Kol, separating you from him, so why not join us?"

Gwen looked him over as her sorrow was replaced with anger. She would never betray Kol or Klaus, let alone for someone who would chain her to a chair and treat her like garbage with his accomplice being her supposed friend. She was angry, which was what drove her to bring her head hard on Marcel, causing the vampire to stumble back while she groaned at the pain in her head with her nose scrunched up. They both shook it off before Marcel gripped her chin and tilted her head back to have her eyes looking at nothing but him.

"You better adjust to the new order of things, sister," he hissed before he grinned at her as he released her. "I like your spunk." He took one of the daggers and stalked out of the room, leaving the rest behind.

Gwen looked down at her arm and saw the chain had loosened with the force she used to slam her head on Marcel. It was all a matter of time before she freed herself and reunited with her own family.

* * *

"Your girl, Gwen," Marcel said as he entered The Garden with Tyler's limp body hanging on his right shoulder. "She's got spirit."

Rebekah sighed at the thought of Gwen. "I know…she's been a good a good friend to me." She cleared her throat. "I, on the other hand, have been a terrible friend. I allowed Kol to be killed right in front of her and did little to bring him back to her, even when she was going crazy and talking to thin air. She thought I didn't notice, but I did." She looked to Marcel's back. "Is she all right?"

"I've promised you many times that she's safe." Marcel nodded. "Where do you want him?" Marcel asked Rebekah after dropping Tyler's body on the floor of The Garden after she broke the hybrid's neck for having suggested ending the life of Klaus' child.

"Well," Rebekah sighed as she entered The Garden, "just put him anywhere handy until Klaus is taken care of." Marcel motioned for the guard patrolling The Garden to take Tyler as another prisoner. "Where are we gonna put Klaus? He needs to be away from all the others. We don't want him fomenting descent. You know he has a knack with words. He could talk his way out of hell."

"Yeah, I got a spot picked out for him in the back," said Marcel. "Only person he's gonna be talking to for the next fifty-two years is himself."

Rebekah frowned. "Fifty-two?"

"One for each year he kept you daggered in the 1800s," Marcel answered.

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean, you let him keep me daggered."

"And I'll spend every year Klaus is in here apologizing to you for it," marcel said as he slowly approached Rebekah.

"Well, I'll settle for long enough to experience just a little bit of happiness," Rebekah said with a small smile appearing on her lips. "And ensure my niece isn't turned into a hybrid breeding machine." She sighed. "It's gonna tough to keep him in here. That little witch of yours would put the odds in our favor, considering Gwen is out of the question."

"I can't risk it," Marcel said as he watched Rebekah pace around. "She's got less and less control over her magic lately. I can't even get her out of the church attic; much less rely on her to go to battle against Klaus."

Rebekah sighed. "Then we'll need your very best warriors. Klaus is strong and crafty, and betrayal makes him particularly nasty."

"What we're doing is nothing Klaus hasn't done to you and your brothers a dozen times over," Marcel said as he approached her, noticing her growing hesitant with their plan. He cupped her face and locked eyes with her. "You're not getting second thoughts now, are you?"

"No," she said as she smiled at Marcel, happy to have his warmth on her skin after missing it for so long. "These aren't second thoughts." Marcel released her then as she sighed. "They're feelings of regret. I should've buried him a hundred years ago." She placed her forehead against his. "A hundred years we could've been together."

Marcel sighed as he cupped her face once more to place his lips on her forehead before he connected them with her own lips. Even after a hundred years being separated, they both still held great love for one another, even if it was an almost impossible love.

* * *

Klaus entered the supposed empty Compound after having visited Father Kieran. Josh had assured Klaus that this would be the perfect time to talk to Marcel after being so paranoid he surrounded himself with an army and daggers strapped on his body. Of course, Klaus was no fool. There had been something off about Josh when they rendezvoused, but went along with it as Kol suggested. He only needed to keep everyone distracted while Kol sneaked into the Compound unnoticed.

"Klaus," Marcel said as he appeared behind Klaus who had been glancing around the empty place.

Klaus looked to Marcel with hard eyes. "You've been avoiding my calls."

"A little pissed off lately," Marcel said, not lying about being extremely angry with his sire.

"Apologies for my behavior can come later," said Klaus. He only needed to keep Marcel's full attention on him and only him, oblivious to the happenings within the Abattoir. "You have something of mine. I want it back."

Marcel took out one dagger from his jacket's pocket. "Sorry, but I can't do that."

Rebekah appeared next to Marcel and took the dagger that he offered to her. Klaus still could not help but be surprised by this; although, he blindly thought his sister would never betray him over Marcel. He watched her as she stood next to his former ward as she gripped the dagger tight in her hand, a dagger he planned on using on her before the night passed.

"What is this?" asked Klaus.

"Apologies for you behavior?" Rebekah asked incredulously as she frowned at Klaus. "You don't apologize, Nik. You just act. I've had enough." She glanced at Marcel, but was careful to also keep her eyes on Klaus. " _We_ have had enough."

"Well, look at you," Klaus said as he grinned vindictively and took some steps closer towards the pair. "You're finally in possession of the one thing that can take you down. How does it feel?"

"Great," Rebekah said with eyes steely and set.

Marcel whistled, which signaled his best fighters to enter the courtyard. Klaus watched as they all surrounded him, but kept their distance from him. He was actually unimpressed and expected more from Marcel. If Kol was right and they wanted to take him down, he thought they would come up with more than a group of vampires who had no clue how experienced and adept he was in battle.

"So this is it," Klaus said with a shrug of his shoulders. "The evil bastard Klaus has gone too far, must be punished and by his own sibling"—he pointed at Rebekah—"nonetheless. How positively biblical." His eyes shifted from his sister to Marcel. "And you, Marcel, is this…" he said as he motioned to the vampires surrounding him, "your idea of a hit? I taught you better than this paltry excuse for a takedown. You think you can subdue me with this?"

"No," Marcel said as he shook his head. "But I think I can with this."

Marcel whistled once more, which brought more vampires into the courtyard. This time it did impress Klaus, but he knew it still wasn't enough to actually stop him. Klaus stopped looking around and glared at his sister and Marcel before he clicked his tongue at them. Things were just getting interesting for him.

* * *

Gwen grunted as she wiggled her hand from the chains constricting it. Her ears had perked up when she heard Klaus' voice with her supernatural hearing and worried what was going on outside her room. A chuckle erupted inside her throat when she managed to pull her hand out of the chains. She reached up and yelped when she took off the duct tape in a single pull. She spit out the cloth from her mouth and took deep breaths to fill up her tense lungs that had been fighting for more air. She took one deep calming breath and calmed her mind.

"Fractos," she said as she stared at her chains holding her to the chair and watched them break, falling to the floor loudly. She hissed and held her breath, waiting for someone to come into the room, but sighed in relief when the door remained shut.

She stood on her feet and went over to the coffee table. She wrapped up the two daggers Marcel left behind and found bag to store them in it. She strapped on the bag across her body and made her way over to the door. She silently pulled open the door and popped her head out to take a peek at her surroundings. She stepped out of the room after having made sure the hallway was clear and walked to where she heard voices arguing. She went to turn a corner but gasped when she came face-to-face with two vampires. They all stood still as they stared at one another, but the vampires shook their head and advanced on her.

Gwen raised a hand and pointed each hand on one of them as her eyes glowed. "Phasmatos Somnus!" She sighed with a smile on her lips as she watched the bodies drop on the floor after being hit with her knock-out spell. She turned around to leave, but squeaked when the hand of another vampire gripped her neck. "Let me go!" He smirked at her futile attempt of escape as she gripped his hand, but raise a hand at him. "Motus." She pushed the vampire's body off of her and crashed it against a wall.

Gwen coughed once, but wasted no time and turned to run away from the vampire that was getting off the floor. She was stopped once more when the brown-haired vampire got in her way. She was prepared to do another spell, but watched as the vampire's body thrusted forward as he grunted in pain. Gwen took a step back and watched as his body dropped to the floor with a hole in his back. She looked up and smiled when she saw Kol drop the vampire's heart on the floor. She laughed before she sped over to his inviting arms and crashed against him with her arms around his neck and face buried in his neck as he held her a distance off the floor with his arms around her waist with a chuckle escaping his lips.

He placed her down on the floor and immediately brought his lips to her in a desperate kiss, having spent too long without her. She responded eagerly as she gripped his hair with her hands, whereas his hands held on to her hips, keeping her body against his. He was eager to get her home and in their bed, yearning to have her skin writhing against his. She could care less that his bloodied hand was smearing the red liquid on her. She pulled away to take in some air, their forehead pressing against one another. She looked up at him as he kept his eyes closed, still relieved to have her with him in his arms.

"I scoured the whole city looking for you, my darling," Kol breathed and opened his eyes to meet her own. "Don't ever disappear on me like that ever again."

Gwen nodded as she grinned up at him. "I'll try not to get kidnapped in the near future."

"How about never?" he teased, to which she chuckled. His face turned serious as his eyes began to check her over from top to bottom. "Did he hurt you?"

She grasped his face in a loving hold and turned his eyes to look at her. "I'm fine." She sighed as the bag across her chest weighed on her at that very moment. "I got two of Nik's daggers in this bag that Marcel left behind."

Kol nodded with furrowed brows. "Keep them hidden. We'll deal with that later."

"Kol," she whispered as she frowned at his chest. He placed his hands on her arms to calm her. "Did Rebekah know Marcel had me here?"

Kol took in a breath before letting it out, knowing that there was no point in lying to her. "Yes."

Gwen nodded before her ears perked up at Klaus' yells. "It's Nik. What's going on?" She looked up to Kol. "Please tell me you guys have some plan."

"A lot of things have opened since you were taken," he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her out of the hallway.

* * *

"Let's end this charade, shall we?" Klaus said as he smirked at Rebekah and Marcel. "Vampires of New Orleans!" He looked around him at all the vampires that surrounded him with his arms stretched out. "Do recall that I am an Original, a hybrid." He dropped his arms as he continued to address to the vampires around him. "I cannot be killed. Eternity is an awfully long time. How long do you think Marcel will stay in power?" He paced around. "What if one of you lot were to release me, knowing I would be eternally in your debt? Oh, I would pity those of you who dared to cross me. I can assure you, your ends would be spectacular." He turned back to Marcel as he fished for an old quarter in his pocket and raised it up for everyone to see. "To borrow a trick from an old friend, whoever picks up this coin gets to live." He dropped the coin and looked around. "Now, which one of you magnificent bastards wants to join me?"

Marcel stepped forward and glanced around his allies. "Anyone wants that coin, pledge allegiance to Klaus, take it now." He saw no movement, so he offered the choice once more. "Go ahead. The choice is yours." Not one single vampire stepped forward and took Klaus' offer, to which Marcel almost smirked. "Take him."

Two vampires blurred over to Klaus, but the Original easily subdued them by snapping ones neck and breaking the other's spine before throwing them away. All of this was done in a mere second as Klaus shrugged a shoulder with a smirk directed at Marcel. He opened his arms as he invited Marcel to try going at him once more, all the while smirking as he released a low growl in his throat. Marcel gestured with his hands and then two vampires wrapped chains around Klaus' arms before pulling him back on his back. Klaus immediately retaliated when he got on his feet, but was brutally pushed back to the locked main entrance with different blows landing on him from different vampires. They all cheered as they strung up Klaus by his arms as they all continued to beat him with punches, kicks, knives and more.

Two bodies of vampires landed at Rebekah's and Marcel's feet. Both of the bodies had holes where their hearts used to be. Two other vampires around them dropped to the floor without a sound escaping their lips, their bodies desiccating due to them dying. Both Rebekah and Marcel frowned at this, wondering how the four bodies just died.

"Poor little sister of mine," Kol said, causing Rebekah and Marcel to turn around to face him and Gwen. Kol's hands were both bloody and Gwen was lowering hers to her sides.

"What are you doing here?" Rebekah asked, not having expected Kol to show up at all. She and Marcel were so focused on Klaus that they forgot about her other brother that had been raging around the city looking for Gwen.

"I'm Nik's back-up plan," said Kol.

Rebekah then looked to Gwen, the latter glaring at her and Marcel. "Gwen, are you all right?"

"She doesn't want to talk to you right now," Kol said to his sister as he glanced at the vampires that were giving Klaus a beating. "And here I thought I would be the one to stoop so low as to do this to Nik," Kol said as he approached Rebekah. Rebekah was actually frightened of her brother at the moment, not being able to read his eyes that were cold as they rested on her.

"This is what we wanted," Rebekah said as she tried justifying her actions, but it was more to herself. "Remember 1914, you asked me help you take him down? You wanted this and you still must want it."

"Yes, but I should remind you the reason that it never happened," Kol said, now standing inches away from his sister as he scowled at her. "You ratted me out." Gwen frowned at this, not knowing that this had been the reason Kol why Kol was last daggered. "I trusted you as my sister, but you chose to be with the whelp and stay in Nik's good graces, so forgive me for doing the same." He glanced at Klaus and smirked. "You're in so much trouble, sister."

Marcel and Rebekah turned and saw Klaus lifting his head from his chest with gold and black eyes, and veins that were protruding under his eyes. The feral growl that escaped him was heard all around by everyone in the Compound. Rebekah gasped and dropped the dagger that she had kept in her grasp after seeing the anger that was pouring out of the single look Klaus gave her. That was when Klaus fought back and began to bite, kick, break and punch anyone he got his hands on. Klaus let out a roar as adrenaline surged through him as he pushed back.

"Marcel!" Klaus called in his rage. "Come and finish this!"

"He won't kill you, sister," Kol said as Rebekah glanced at him, his eyes glancing at Marcel. "He will kill him. You know I'm right."

Marcel was about to charge at Klaus, but Rebekah held him back. "No, Kol's right." Her eyes pleaded with him, finally realizing that it was futile to even think about going against Klaus. "Take the coin."

Marcel frowned. "What?"

"He's still killing, you know that, right?" Gwen told them as she stood next to Kol and watched Klaus brutally killing the vampires that were ready to bury him.

"He won't stop until everyone is dead, and he will kill you, too." She glanced at the havoc Klaus was creating, her breathing was telling at how nervous she was. "End this. Pick up the coin."

Klaus had made his way out of the hall they had pushed him in, bringing down anyone who got in his way. Gwen saw he had blood splattered across his face with blood dripping down his chin from biting vampires at every turn he got the chance. She took Kol's hand in hers and he pulled her close to him as they watched Klaus end the lives of Marcel's army one by one. And yet, Gwen was not at all perturbed by any of this, which she found strange, but not surprising after having witnessed Klaus do horrible things in their years together.

"Enough!" Marcel yelled as Klaus cracked a vampire's neck. Marcel kneeled on one knee and picked up the coin Klaus had dropped. He looked up as Klaus approached him with an eerie calmness about him.

"Well, well, well." Klaus stopped in front of the kneeling Marcel. "The great Marcel, self-proclaimed King of New Orleans, is bowing before me."

"There." Marcel threw the coin at Klaus' feet as his vampires back off and away from Klaus. The leader of the vampires of New Orleans looked up at Klaus with arms outstretched at his sides. "I hereby pledge my allegiance to you. You have the keys to my kingdom." Klaus smirked at this. "It's yours."

* * *

"We're living here now?" Gwen asked as she stood in one of the many living rooms of the Abattoir with Kol sitting on a sofa and Klaus leaning against the desk in the room. They had all cleaned up after settling their feud with Marcel, except for Gwen who was still unsettled by the change of home.

"You don't like the place, Cat?" Klaus asked with a smirk on his lips. "I can make a few modifications, if you like."

Gwen shook her head as she sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of Kol. "It's not that." She sighed. "I just don't like big places with vampires who now hate us roaming about the halls."

"They won't try anything," Kol assured her as he took her hands in his. "I've made sure of that."

"What happens now?" Gwen asked as she looked up to Klaus. "You massacred a lot of vampires, so the rest won't be eager to pledge allegiance to you fully. What happens to Rebekah and Elijah?" She cleared her throat. "I know they hurt you, Nik, but you've also hurt them."

"That is for me to worry about," Klaus said as he approached Gwen and placed a hand on hair, offering her a small smile. He was sincerely relieved to have her back, especially now when he had no one at his side. He just had to make sure that Gwen stayed with him, which also meant Kol would side with him. "You should rest; you've had a rough time as of late."

Gwen scoffed. "I am not sitting on a chair for some time." She pecked Kol's lips before she stood up. "I feel disgusting without having a shower for the duration of my kidnapping, so I will take my leave to my new room."

"Be there soon, darling," Kol said as he watched her make her way out of the room.

"Goodnight, Cat," Klaus told her as she was leaving.

"Night, Mouse," she sighed as she stepped out of the room and out in the balcony that had a full view of the courtyard. She saw the burning bodies of many vampires, but shook her head before turning to leave but was met by Rebekah. They both stared at each other for some time before Gwen spoke up. "You knew." It was a statement. "He might have not hurt me, but I expected you to at least fight for me as I would've done for you and not use me as some pawn in your stupid fight with Nik." Rebekah's eyes fell to the floor. "I can be loyal to your brothers, but I would fight for you, Bekah, if you'd only do the same in return."

"I'm sorry, Weny," Rebekah said as she looked up, but avoided staring at Gwen's eyes for too long, disliking the anger in the jade-green eyes of the witch.

Gwen simply walked away from her and left the blonde Original on her own. The silence was worse than no answer. Rebekah sighed as she closed her eyes, hurt that she hurt Gwen. She was not sorry for making a move against Klaus but she was ashamed that she had allowed Marcel to use Gwen as a pawn in this situation. She had also lost Kol, which worsened their situation, since he had yet to forgive them for not having helped him come back to life.

Her family was truly broken in her eyes.

* * *

Gwen sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed in the room that had once belonged to Kol when he last lived in New Orleans. The sun streamed through the curtains, and Gwen had washed away the night before with a hot shower and a good night's sleep. Her mind was chaos and she could not focus. Rebekah had sided with Marcel, a man made an enemy since they first arrived to the city. Elijah liked Hayley and one was not stupid to know that she'd prefer Elijah to be the father of the child she was carrying, but she was also to blame for this. This was an act that took two to dance. And there was Klaus regressing back to being a tyrant after his siblings turned on him. This was why Gwen never turned her back to him completely, because she always had to give him the benefit of the doubt and he had confided in her so many things that made her understand him even more.

Gwen reached for the bag on the floor next to the bed and placed it next to her. She reached inside and took out the two daggers that Marcel had left unattended and twirled them in her hands. Her eyes took in the simple but thin daggers. Her attention was focused on the intricate designs on the hilt, having never held the objects for too long in her hands. The opening of the door had Gwen hide the daggers behind her as fast as she could, but sighed when she saw it was only Kol as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He looked her tense form over and raised an eyebrow before she placed her hands on her lap.

"Where's Nik?" Gwen asked him as she toyed with the daggers.

Kol huffed as he dropped on the bed next to her, hoisting himself up by an elbow while also resting his cheek on his hand. "He went to give Elijah and Bekah a scolding." He took one of the daggers from Gwen's hand. "He also banned them from entering this place. It appears we might spend the holidays separately."

"Nik's gonna be pissed for quite some time, so I believe that," Gwen sighed, not looking forward to Klaus' bad moods. "Everything we came here to do is done." She looked to Kol. "What are we meant to do now?"

"What do you want, my darling?" Kol asked her as he looked up to her. "What does my Darling Gwen want in the whole wide world?"

Gwen rolled her eyes at him playfully. "I don't know." She shrugged. "I'm having a mid-life crisis; I don't know what I want. My head's a mess." She sighed and dropped on her back on her pillow and looked up to Kol. "I have my life back, but there are so many things I used to want before that I either can't have anymore or I have changed so much that I don't want the same things I used to want."

"We can figure this all out together and take our time," Kol said as he took the daggers and placed them back in the bag they had been in before dropping it on the floor. "For now we keep the daggers hidden from Nik and we can stay in New Orleans while we think about what we want to do from here." He then buried his face in Gwen's neck as he massaged her skin with his lips.

"Kol," Gwen warned as she dug her hands in his brown strands. "People can hear us."

"Let them," he murmured as he shifted his body to rest on top of hers, the weight sending a wave of pleasure throughout Gwen's body. She moaned as he connected his lips with hers, while his hands stroked her body all around, igniting her body from the inside. She quickly melted under his touch as they both removed their shirts, their eyes quickly appreciating the other's figure. Gwen giggled when he dropped back on top of her to connect his lips to her neck. "I want them all to know who you belong to."

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward for the next one. I am happy with how the story s going so far and I hope you guys are too. Remember to Fave or Follow, whichever you like best. And I also love your reviews, which help steer this this story and I am so excited for future chapters. Not everything is going to be happy, but keep in mind that I am a sucker for a happy ending, even when things look bad.**

 **Remember to review your thoughts, opinions, emotions, etc.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey, Fanfictioners! First, I want to apologize for the crazy hiatus, but this semester has been a killer one and it's not over yet! Still, I managed to give you guys a chapter to enjoy, at least until I am done with college i the next few weeks. I hope you guys can bear it with me and I'll come right back to the story.**

 **I love you guys so much for putting up with me and hope you continue to do so. XD**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

* * *

"Is Nik having that awkward dinner tonight?" Gwen asked in the silence of the room she shared with Kol, both taking each other's scents. "And I mean the one with Marcel and his league of vampires."

"Yes, but he specifically advised us to be absent," said Kol.

"I cannot imagine why," Gwen said with a snort. "I am not a well-liked person and you killed a lot of his vampire lackeys, so we have to steer clear of them until things cool down a bit."

"How does India sound?" Kol asked from where he sat against the headboard of his bed as he trailed his fingers up and down Gwen's arm, soothing her, while she was tucked to his side with her head under his chin. Her right hand was drawing mindless figures on his bare chest, whereas Kol's free hand rested on his stomach. Their naked bodies were entangled under the sheets, both of them content with the tranquility of the night. "Or we can go to the Maldives. It has these beautiful beaches you'll love and ancient places I can take you to."

"Sounds like a dream," Gwen sighed as she buried herself deeper into Kol's embrace. She then thought of the comforts of staying over there. "I can only imagine how beautiful a honeymoon suite must be over there; they are the most comfortable rooms."

Kol hummed at this and his mind took life of its own once more, like it did when he took Hayley to the doctor out in the bayou and imagined Gwen pregnant with his child. He imagined Gwen dressed in a white dress with her hair golden like a halo as she walked down an aisle to reach him and her radiant smile on her lips. They would smile at one another after their vows and kiss, symbolizing their union. He even tortured himself by imagining them in Crete as they walked down the sandy beach hand in hand in their own honeymoon. He closed his eyes as he once more thought of Gwen round with his child growing in her womb. Kol took a deep breath and willed away the pictures that plagued his mind, keeping himself from going down that road once again. He never imagined he'd have these urges in the entirety of his immortal life, but he never thought he'd meet someone like Gwen. She brought out this side of him and he did not mind one bit, but he could not give it all to her. But he could give her one of those things, if she still wanted it.

"Darling?" he asked as he looked down at her. She hummed as she tilted her head up to meet his gaze, his hand that was stroking her arm was now buried in her hair. "What did you want in life, you know, before you died?"

"Normal things, I guess," Gwen said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I wanted to go to college and study photography; I liked it very much. I liked capturing a memory and seeing it whenever I remembered it. I wanted to get married, but not because it was expected of a couple, but because we are in love and want to put a stamp on it for everyone to see our love and share in it. And I wanted to have…" she sighed and cleared her throat, "…have children; I only wanted two, a boy and a girl." She frowned and looked to Kol. "Why do you ask this?"

Kol smiled and shook his head. "No reason, I just wanted to know what my Darling Gwen loved and dreamed."

"Kol," she whispered as she stared into his eyes, knowing he was hiding something. "I don't want the same things. Yes, I have thought about all of that, but I want you more."

"You could have all of that with a warlock, a werewolf, or even a human," Kol argued, to which Gwen sat up as she narrowed her eyes at him while keeping the sheet around her chest. "You will never have that with me. I can't give you a wedding without something of my family always in the way." He sighed as he stared at the ceiling, his face stoic. "And I can't father children with you, even though the mere thought of it pains me, because I am a bloody vampire and I cannot give you that which I know you desire; no pun intended on the 'bloody vampire' thing."

Gwen's eyes softened at this, tears gathering in her eyes, and leaned towards him to cup his face with both of her hands, her body flush against his side as she stared into his eyes. "The mere thought of you wanting to give me those things is enough for me, Kol." He remained silent, needing to hear her reassurances and promises to him. "I don't need to be married to love. And I want children, but that is something that will never go away. And I can tell you a certainty and that is that I _cannot_ live without you. I _won't_ live without you." Her voice was breaking and it was paining Kol. "I tried that and I went crazy." They both chuckled at this. "I mean, I had hallucinations of you after you died. And you turn into a madman at the thought of me in danger, I cannot imagine what would happen if I—"

"Don't say it," he almost growled at her as his hands cupped her face in a second. "I need you to never say that." He shook his head as she nodded, sniffling. "I cannot afford to lose you, Gwen." He touched her forehead with his. "I want you for the rest of my eternity."

Gwen leaned in and molded her lips against his, sighing in relief. They fought with their tongues as Kol's hands began to grip hard onto her body, bruises sure to form by morning. Kol hoisted her on top of his body to straddle him with her chest pressed against his as his hands roamed over her body under the sheets, while her own hands scratched his chest before they buried themselves in his hair to try and bring them much closer than they already were. The tears that had gathered in her eyes now streamed down her cheeks and Kol began to kiss them off of her cheeks. Gwen took his head and placed her lips on his once more with need filling her entire being; it was so great that she could barely breathe right.

"Kol," she moaned against his lips and panted as their eyes connected, but not with lust, it was something absolutely pure. "Make love to me."

Not a second passed after she uttered those words that Kol had her back pressed against the mattress with her legs wrapped around his hips as he continued to deepen their kiss, pushing her further into the bed. He had no control over his body and he did little to keep himself in control, he only managed to not sink his teeth into her skin, but that was the extent of his self-control. She moaned and mewled as she dragged her hands on his back, trying to bring him even closer to her body.

Kol pulled away from her and looked down at her as his hand stroked away strands of her hair away from her face. "I love you, Gwen Pierson."

"As I love you, Kol Mikaelson," Gwen said as she smiled up at him, enjoying the feel of his weight on top of her body.

* * *

Gwen had left her room long after Kol had gone to meet with Klaus, considering her body was spent and bruised from the night before. She had covered up her legs, arms and neck since they were covered with purple spots that Kol had left there. She had left marks on him, but they healed fast. Unlike Kol, Gwen's marks took longer to heal and he was always smug about that fact. She wore leggings under the black dress with white floral print that had long sleeves to cover her arms. She also had to wear a scarf to hide her neck, even though she knew Kol would prefer her to display his marks to everyone. And she tried to ignore how sore she was between her legs after having spent nearly all night making love with an insatiable Kol.

Gwen stopped when she heard three familiar voices coming from the main entrance of the Compound. She frowned as she approached the area and her ears picked up Hayley's voice talking with Elijah and Rebekah. They were discussing Hayley's family out in the bayou and Klaus sending vampires to kill them all. Gwen found she had to discuss that with Klaus. She waited until Elijah and Rebekah left to confront Hayley.

"Hayley," Gwen greeted the werewolf after the latter turned away from the entrance of the Abattoir and caused her to jump in surprise. "I knew I heard Elijah and Rebekah." Hayley hid away her wide eyes and wary posture with confidence as she stared at Gwen. "I know you care about those werewolves, so I don't mind you trying to protect what little family you have left."

"You saying you'll help me?" Hayley asked with narrowed eyes.

"I can't help you," Gwen said as she shook her head. "I can protect you without making you feel like a dog tied to a post, but I won't go behind Nik's back. I prefer to persuade him with words. I leave the secrecy to Kol, he's better at it."

Hayley sighed in annoyance. "Then what are we doing, talking about the weather?"

"No, but I'd like to talk to you about your feelings for Elijah." Hayley's eyes widened at this and opened her mouth to protest, but Gwen stopped her. "Don't lie to me. I may be a horrible liar, but I am good at spotting them. I am not saying this to hurt you, but not everyone will look at you the same after you have that baby."

"By 'everyone' you mean Elijah," said Hayley as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"He's one of them," Gwen said with a nod of her head. "He may feel something for you now, but I don't want you to settle for something that did not come from true feelings and not just because you're pregnant under his protection."

"Well, he's the only one that seems to want me to stay with _my_ child," Hayley argued.

"Let's start with you never even wanting this child and I am prepared to remind you that you wanted it dead for the rest of your life," Gwen argued in return without raising her voice, but the calmness frightened Hayley more. "Nik told me about your attempt at the child's life. And he may have not wanted it either at the start, but let's not forget that you didn't either." She stepped closer to Hayley, inches away from her. "I won't let Nik separate you from the child, but one move that suggests that you are failing as a mother and I will erase any memory of you ever having a baby."

"That a threat?" asked Hayley, almost growling.

"A promise," answered Gwen. "I want you in this child's life, because every child needs her mother, but she will also need her father. It's bad enough she's in the middle of this conflict, but she will never be safer than under both of her parents' care." Hayley nodded at this. "And that includes clearing your feelings for Elijah. Niklaus won't like that and you'll only pin them against each other, and I cannot have that." Gwen sighed as she stepped away from Hayley. "I need you to be sure of your feelings Hayley. I will help you, but only as long as your feelings are justified by being true."

Hayley nodded, knowing that Gwen was right. "I know, and I will figure things out."

"I am not against love," Gwen said as she offered Hayley a small smile. "I _love_ love; it's the most powerful thing on this earth. I can help, but only to a point."

"Are you afraid Klaus will hurt you?" asked Hayley.

"No, he's done worse to me in the past," Gwen said as she went to walk away with Hayley walking beside her. "Besides, we didn't get along at first. He was a tyrant and I despised him, but, at that moment, he was the only family I had left and still is." Gwen glanced at Hayley. "He's my best friend."

Hayley scoffed. "I'm still trying to grasp that fact."

Gwen chuckled. "Trust me; it will only get more difficult to swallow as time passes."

* * *

Kol entered a living room that Klaus was in with Marcel and Camille was just leaving as he arrived. He raised a knowing eyebrow at Klaus with a smirk on his lips before he plopped down on the sofa, looking up at Klaus and Marcel. They all waited until Camille had left the room to begin the meeting that Klaus summoned them for, all of them ignorant of the human leaving clues for herself to work around Klaus' compulsion.

"Why am I here?" Kol asked as Klaus and Marcel took a seat in the room. Kol's eyes locked with Marcel's and smirked. "I doubt my opinion is much appreciated here."

"You are here to bury the hatchet," Klaus said as he glanced from Marcel to Kol. "You both have had your issues in the past and we are here to make a truce, but I'd like to say that I'd prefer you put a cloaking spell in your room, Kol." Kol frowned and played the innocent, as if he did not know what Klaus was referring to. "I rather sleep without catching a whisper of what you and Gwen were up to last night."

"I second that," Marcel piped in.

Kol rolled his eyes at them. "I will, as long you both do the same in return when you have a special visit."

"Done," said Klaus. "Now, onto the important part, Kol I need you and Marcel to apologize to one another." They both went to argue, but Klaus raised a hand to silence them. "Marcel, you went after Gwen, and even though she was not harmed, you still took her after I told you to keep away from her." He turned to Kol. "You killed Marcel's companions instead of having come to me to solve this sooner. If we are to build our home together, I need you both to cooperate with one another."

Kol sighed, not liking this, but he knew Klaus would not settle for less. Still, he had his conditions. "I will apologize, but under one condition."

"We don't have time for this, Kol," said Klaus.

"Oh, we do," Kol remarked as he stood up and went to pour himself a drink from the scotch stored in the room. "I will apologize," he said as he turned around to stare at his brother and Marcel. "But only when the whelp apologizes to Gwen and mean it."

"Fine, I'll do it," Marcel said with ease, remembering Rebekah's warning about staying alive. "I'll do it the next time I see her."

Kol nodded. "Good." He took a sip of his scotch. "So, we were going to discuss the meeting with the humans, right?"

* * *

Gwen hummed as she poured some blood from a blood bag into a mug, emptying the entire bag. Her hunger was still being sated after spending time without having a drop after Marcel kidnapped her. She placed the mug in the microwave of the enormous and empty kitchen, and pressed some buttons to heat it up. She sighed with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for the microwave to finish doing its job. She jumped when the microwave finished and hands encircled her waist, bringing her back against a hard chest with Kol placing his chin on her shoulder.

"Good morning, darling," Kol murmured as he kissed her cheek. He hugged her close to his front and smirked before he voiced his question. "Why are you so covered up?"

"Well, there is the matter of my handsome man having a kink with marking me," she teased him, to which he sighed heavily into her neck as his body started to awaken at her words. "He's very possessive."

"Stop it, darling," he almost growled as he twisted her around to come face-to-face with her, his hands gripping her shoulders in a gentle hold. "There's no point in making me take you back to bed when I want to take you out for a stroll, considering Nik and Marcel have everything under control here and are meeting with the humans."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. "Not into the politics of running a city?"

"Too decent for my taste," he said as he reached for the mug inside the microwave and gave it to Gwen. "Besides, I have my girl to entertain and satisfy."

"You mean it's too formal and not violent enough for you; plus, you have me to go to bed with every night," Gwen corrected him as she took a sip of the blood in the mug that was nestled in her hands. He nodded as he watched her make her way over to the living room and sat on the sofa in the room. She looked up at Kol and patted the spot next to her, and he obliged with her silent demand. "I want to ask you something."

He took her mug and sipped at it. "Go ahead." He handed the mug back. "I'm your open book."

"What did Rebekah do that got you daggered?" Gwen noticed how he stiffened at this and went to lessen the blow. "You don't have to tell me, if you're not ready."

He turned his body to face her and smiled at her. "You won't like the answer."

"Try me," said Gwen. She did not want Kol to believe he had reason to not confide in her. "You may be wild and crazy, but that is one of the many reason I love you, and you can trust me."

Kol smiled at her. "I know I can." He sighed before he shook his head. "But I did something, and I find it is best to show you."

"Show me," Gwen said as she placed her mug on the coffee table in front of her and scooted closer to him to let him delve into her mind. "I know you can show me memories, so go ahead."

"I can do you one better," Kol said as he thought of his previous hideout that he'd rather keep sealed. And with Gwen's help, he knew he could get into his old hideout, but he needed to make sure she would not blow up at him. "But I'll share a memory for now."

"All right." Gwen nodded as Kol lifted a hand and placed it on Gwen's temple, stroking her bangs off of her forehead. They smiled at one another before Kol leaned in and placed his forehead on hers. He willed Gwen's mind into his own and felt her presence there. Now he only had to show her memories that he remembered quite well from the time between daggerings, a time when he previously lived in New Orleans.

* * *

 _The cemetery of New Orleans that was known as the Lafayette Cemetery was empty and quiet during one night with mist coating the ground of the entire area. The stars shone bright in the night sky and the wind was cold. It was all quiet and dark, except for the few lamp posts with candles within that lighted the paths of the cemetery with not a single disturbance, except for one._

 _A lone figure walked along the paths as her eyes darted all around her surroundings. She was an attractive young woman who had a fair complexion, a round face, light blue eyes and light blonde hair, which was curled into tight ringlets that framed her round face. Her clothing consisted of the fashion style during the years of the early 1900s. And the woman's name was Mary-Alice Claire._

 _Mary-Alice Claire walked along the paths of the cemetery, wary of what was circling her. She knew she was not alone in the area, especially with the cutting of wind reaching her ears. And she knew better than to think that she was imagining things. Besides, she had an idea of who was the person that was tailing her. A whooshing sound behind her caused her to whip around, but saw nothing but the old stone walls of tombs all around her. She turned back around and continued on her way, but she was more alert and ready to not be caught off guard. She was suddenly pushed against a stone wall in less than a blink of an eye as a gasp escaped her lips before her eyes settled on the figure of Kol Mikaelson smirking at her with a hand next to her head._

 _Mary-Alice sighed as she half-heartedly glared up at Kol. "Just once, Kol Mikaelson, you might greet me like a gentleman?"_

" _If you are in the market for a gentleman, Mary-Alice Claire," Kol began as he toyed with an accessory on her clothing and then cupped her face with his free hand, still leaning on the other, "I'm afraid you have the wrong Mikaelson brother." He grinned at her before meeting her lips in a chaste kiss that was enough to leave her breathless, which was what Kol wanted. He pulled away and turned his attention to their business. "Where is Astrid?" He stepped away from her and paced a few steps. "I need two witches before the lessons can begin."_

" _She thinks you can't be trusted," Mary-Alice argued as she stared at Kol and stepped closer to him. "We've all heard the stories of how you use the witches and then discard them."_

" _Lies," Kol sighed without tearing his eyes away from her own, "propagated by my wicked family, love. I hold witches in high regard. You know, if Klaus says his way, you'll all be dead. This will be a vampire country." He knew he was getting to her by the pensive look on her face. His argument was better than him seducing her. "Don't you want to keep you all in safe, for all the future generations of Claires to come?"_

 _Mary-Alice narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you so keen to help us? What do you get out of this?"_

" _As soon as we get rid of Klaus's witches, we are going to get rid of Klaus." He stepped away from her, ready to lead her to their secret hideout that was only known to them and soon, he hoped, to Astrid. "Follow me, Mary Alice," he inquired as he extended a hand for her to take. She took it and he leaned in to place his lips on her gloved hands. "We are going to change everything."_

* * *

Gwen gasped as Kol pushed her out of his mind, deeming it enough of information to give her for the time being. Gwen took a moment to gather her thoughts and then looked at Kol, a sheepish look adorning his face. He sighed heavily, preparing himself for the rant that was sure to follow at the moment. But he was not prepared for her slapping him right across the face, which had him reeling back with eyes wide and hand on his sore cheek, not believing that his sweet Gwen had just slapped him.

"I know you would have been angry at even suggesting taking out Nik, but I did not peg you for the slap first and ask questions later," Kol said in disbelief as he tenderly rubbed the cheek Gwen had just slapped.

"Ask Nik, he'll be more than happy to argue that," Gwen said as she stood up from the sofa and began to make her way out of the room, also trying not to draw attention to the fact that Kol had tried to plot against Klaus in the past. Kol made haste as he followed her, worried he would lose her.

"Darling, I'm sorry that I went against Nik," he said as he reached for her shoulder and stopped her before he had her turn to him, glad that she was complying. "He was a tyrant and I only wanted to live my life however I wanted."

"I am not angry about that," she said with narrowed eyes, her answer confusing Kol. "But if you ever show me some previous lover of yours kissing you, you'll have permanent residence on the floor." His frown slowly dissolved into a smirk as his hands traveled down to her hips. "Why are you looking so smug, I am not happy?" She crossed her arms over her chest, but he continued to smirk as he brought her closer to him.

"Jealous, are we?" he asked as he bit his bottom lip, enjoying the fact that he had made her jealous for the first time in their relationship.

"Kol," she warned.

"Come now, darling," he said and then swayed them to no music. "The Claire witch is dead, I have you now."

"You're lucky I like you," she said and disentangled herself from his arms to tease him while playing hard to get. She looked up at him and smiled, teasing him further. "You were talking about some stroll."

Kol grinned and approached her. "It's a perfect day to visit the cemetery."

And Gwen frowned at this, but she had no time to question him when the sound of the front doors of the Compound opened. Kol and Gwen turned to find Davina being escorted into the building by two vampires carrying boxes. The vampires quickly made their way to where Davina would be staying as the young witch watched on.

"Davina?" Gwen asked as she approached the brunette witch.

Davina smiled softly at Gwen with her arms crossed over her chest. "Gwen!" She was not comfortable with the situation at all, but she was relieved to see a familiar face that was not an Original. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved in with Kol and Niklaus," Gwen offered Davina a small smile. "I didn't think they'd involve you in all of this."

"Knowing Klaus, he gets what he wants," Kol chimed in as he stood next to Gwen with his eyes on Davina. "And you being the all-powerful witch you supposedly are, he and Marcel will want you close by." He had his own plans for the young witch, if things didn't go to plan. "You're a Claire, right?"

"And you're the lunatic," Davina shot back, causing Gwen to snort and Kol to raise his eyebrows in amusement. "Marcel told me about you."

"Did he?" asked Kol.

Davina could not deny that he was handsome, but he was with Gwen and an Original, so she found no interest in him whatsoever. "He told me how horrific you can be when going to the theater."

Gwen turned to Kol with an inquiring look, but he waved it off. "We'll discuss that later."

"Sooner rather than later," Gwen corrected him with narrowed eyes solely on him. She then turned her attention to Davina. "I wish I could stay and chat, but Kol promised to take me out on a date in the cemetery."

Davina frowned at Kol. "I'll add hopeless at romance to your profile."

"I'll ignore you're existence for the duration of your stay," Kol said and took Gwen's hand in his before he led her away from Davina with Gwen telling the witch she promised a girl's night later on.

Davina made sure that Kol and Gwen had left before she made her way towards the garage, where she was sure to find her hiding friend. And she had to make sure to be careful not to alert anyone to their sneaking around, but a certain pregnant werewolf was onto her.

* * *

"Kol, why are we here?" Gwen asked as Kol pulled her along behind him as they walked through the maze of the Lafayette Cemetery. Her feet were sore and she was getting hungry for human food, having skipped breakfast. She was skeptical about the situation, but she trusted Kol above all else. "I don't think this is a place to take your girlfriend out for a date." She tried to make light of the situation, and it worked when she heard Kol chuckle.

He turned around and connected their lips for a chaste kiss. "I never said this would be a date, merely a stroll through memory lane." He looked to his right and grinned at Gwen. "We're here."

Gwen frowned and turned to look at the tomb they stood in front of. "What is it?"

"I present to you," Kol said as he stepped behind Gwen with his hands on her shoulders, "my special little haven."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at this and stepped towards the stone building. She lifted her hand and went to place a hand on the stone, but yelped as she flinched back. Her hand felt like it had been electrocuted and Kol was by her side immediately. He inspected Gwen's blistered hand as it healed and growled at the spirit of Mary-Alice Claire. He thought another witch could have opened the tomb, but it seemed he was underestimating his former love interest's resourcefulness. He didn't have many options, considering the only Claire descendant was under the vigilant eye of both Klaus and Marcel.

"I honestly thought you'd be able to open it, darling," he sighed and turned to give Gwen an apologetic look as he took her already healed hand in his. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she said as she shrugged her shoulders after no longer feeling any pain on her hand. "What is so special about this place?"

"It's where I stored all of my objects and frustrations," he said as he wrapped an arm around Gwen's shoulders and led her away from the tomb. "I also practiced a form of magic called Kemiya with some witches I recruited to help take down Klaus."

Gwen frowned and stopped walking and looked up at Kol. "What do you mean?"

Kol took a breath and prepared himself to reveal his secret to Gwen, not knowing how she might react. He was hoping she would understand him and not rat him out to Klaus like Rebekah had done, but he doubted she'd be capable of something like that, but he was still afraid. "By creating a dagger that would work on him and him alone."

* * *

 **End of the chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. I love writing Gwen and Kol moments, I find them so pure in their love that I get carried away and extend it. I would appreciate feedback, especially with reviews that express your opinions and thoughts that fuels me to write this story.**

 **Thoughts in reviews, Like in Follows and Love in Fave!**

 **See ya later!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey, guys! Here is yet another chapter. I have good news: I just finished my semester, so I will start on writing future chapters for this story. Now, the bad news is that I won't post anything this week, 'cause I will leave for a trip tomorrow. But expect another chapter on the week after this one. I am really happy with what you've all shared in your reviews and I hope I continue to satisfy you guys.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

* * *

Kol paced in front of Gwen as she sat on a stone platform in the Lafayette Cemetery, not too far away from his playhouse. After he revealed what he had been planning in his safe house, Gwen had only nodded without saying a single word and sat down. Kol's nerves were getting the better of him, even though he was the one who decided to give Gwen some space to process what he just told her. While his nerves racked him, Gwen's mind was taking in what Kol revealed. But her decision had already been made. She could not tell Klaus what Kol just told her, which would surely guarantee Klaus going berserk. She feared what he'd do to Kol if he figured out he had no daggers to use. And she felt wrong betraying Klaus like this, but she had no choice; this was the only way to keep Kol and Klaus together. She just had to make sure that none of this would get out and reach Klaus.

"Kol?" she breathed.

Kol was at her side in seconds. "Yes, darling?" He was too nervous and anxious to hear what Gwen had to say. "I need you to know that I never intended to get rid of Klaus permanently."

"Does anyone else know about this place?" she asked him, still not looking at him as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Is that dagger in there?"

"The only people who know are some good feet underground, but no one else has any idea of this place," he assured her, which made things far easier for her. "And we never got to complete the dagger, but the instruments for its creation are inside that lab."

"Then we keep it a secret," she said before she glanced at him. "We don't tell a soul about this place and you promise me to not use it against Nik. I know he has done you harm, but I need you both in my life, and let the past be just that."

He understood Gwen, but he read between the lines. She was choosing him over Klaus. He knew she'd never tell Klaus about the safe house, let alone talk about the dagger, which brought elation to his chest. It was selfish and self-centered, but Kol found joy in her decision. She was choosing him over any of his siblings. Yes, he knew she had previously chosen him when she left with him on their own before coming here, but this was different. This involved Klaus and his other siblings, and Gwen decided to choose him over any of them, even though there would be consequences for this.

"I know it's not the perfect time to say this, but…" he began as he locked his eyes with Gwen's, one side of his lips turning upwards. He took her hands in his own, squeezing them as he stroked her knuckles. "I have to say how happy you've made me right now." Gwen frowned at him, not understanding what he meant. "I don't care if I repeat myself, but all my life I have lived in the shadow of my siblings, always the discarded one; the one nobody chose." He lifted a hand and cupped Gwen's left cheek as she smiled at him. "You came along and you've shown me how it feels to be loved, truly."

"And here I was starting to believe Davina when she said you lacked romance in a cemetery," Gwen said as she chuckled, turning her head to kiss Kol's palm.

Kol shrugged and stood up and pulled Gwen with him. "Not the best place to woo my girl, but I can manage."

"Kol, I promise to keep this between us, but you have to promise to never use this against Nik," she said as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. And Kol found he could not deny her, so he nodded. He would not use anything in his playhouse against Klaus, so long as his older brother behaved when concerning Gwen. He was brought out of his thoughts when Gwen cupped his face and stroked his cheeks. "I just want everyone to be safe."

He smiled down at her as he encased her waist with his arms. "I'll keep you safe."

"I'll keep you safe, too," she replied before she hugged his waist and snuggled her face into his chest as he tightens his hold around her waist, both smiling.

* * *

It was nighttime in New Orleans and music was bringing the city to life with lights dancing in the sky. It was a truly beautiful night, but with much blood having been spilt from both the Human Faction and the Vampire Faction in the French Quarter. In one building that belonged to the Mikaelson family, Klaus and Marcel entered with their clothes stained with blood after having killed the leaders of the Human Faction.

Klaus raised a hand with a flask in it. "To a united front," he said before he took a swig of the alcoholic beverage. He stopped by a pillar and turned to Marcel. "These acts of yours, the imitation of friendship—don't get me wrong. You play the part well enough. I should know, having played it myself, but there was a time when the affinity between us was quite real."

"Oh, sure," Marcel began as he placed his hands on his hips, "and then you got it in your head to take what I created." He was relieved that his people were spared, but he was not happy with how Klaus forced his hand. "When I picked up that coin, I swore loyalty, Klaus, not friendship, all right." He shook his head at close, keeping his voice even and clear. "I'm holding up my end. The other one has to be earned."

Klaus nodded. "Fair enough." He knew Marcel had every right to be upset, but he truly did everything for his child. And yet, hidden away and out of sight, he wanted what Marcel had. "Then you should probably know the whole story." And he was going to tell his former ward the whole truth. "My decision was not entirely my own. If I didn't agree to usurp your power, the witches swore to kill my unborn child." Marcel switched his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for Klaus to continue. Klaus sighed before he continued. "At first, the promise of an offspring meant little to me, but then I recalled my father, how he held me in contempt from the moment I was born"—Klaus motioned to Marcel and gave the vampire a sympathetic smile—"as yours did with you." Marcel gulped down repressed memories and looked away from Klaus. "I will not do to my child what was done to me, to us." He took another sip of his flask.

Marcel shook his head and approached Klaus, still upset about what Klaus did to him and his rule over New Orleans. "All this—the spying, the manipulation—that's just something you were forced into. Is that it?" He tilted his head as he frowned at Klaus, and Klaus kept quiet. "And what now, you feel kind of bad? 'Hey, buddy, it's nothing personal.' Is that it?"

"I admit…" Klaus said, but failed in his words. He was going to take another sip of his flask to calm his nerves, but decided it was best to have a clear head for this conversation. "I was jealous." Marcel gave him a look, not surprised by this revelation. "I saw the empire you created on your own without me, I saw it," he sighed as he looked at Marcel in the eyes, "and I wanted it."

Marcel looked away, but returned his eyes to Klaus'. "You're wrong, you know. I didn't do it on my own." Klaus' brows furrowed inquiringly. "I stood in the shadow of my father my entire human life, and I never would've gotten out from under it if not for you. You're the one who taught me that a man can't be defined by anyone but himself. So…what now?"

Klaus sighed heavily. "This community that you've built, you have their respect, their love." Marcel dropped his hands by his sides as he contemplated what Klaus was saying. "I can rule them, but I cannot win them, not without you." Marcel took in what Klaus was getting at, and he could not pass up this opportunity that Klaus was actually bestowing on him. "So rule with me side by side as equals…friends"—he raised his flask towards Marcel—"brothers."

Marcel looked down at the flask that Klaus was offering to him as a sign of truce and the deal that Klaus just proposed. The vampire's mind tried really hard to find a downside to this, but found that he had made his mind concerning Klaus' offer. He would have the Original hybrid on his corner and practically invincible. And so he took the flask and grinned before he took a sip. Klaus also grinned in return.

"Isn't this touching?" Kol remarked as he and Gwen entered the Compound after having had dinner at an Italian restaurant, Gwen's favorite. Gwen had an arm looped around Kol's elbow, while he had his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his jacket. "A bonding moment between master and servant."

"Kol," Gwen chastised the youngest Mikaelson brother, throwing him a small glare before she turned back to Klaus and Marcel. "I'm glad to see you guys have settled things."

Marcel turned to Gwen and offered her a sincere smile. "I want to offer you a heartfelt apology about our previous encounter." Gwen tilted her head to the side, while Kol and Klaus looked on. "I only wanted to keep the Mikaelsons in check; I never planned on harming you."

Gwen looked him over and glanced at Klaus, who nodded at her. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Marcel. "Apology accepted." She smiled at Marcel. "I hope we can get to know each other better than just being kidnapper and kidnapped."

"You don't have to be kind to the help, darling," said Kol.

"Glad to see Kol's got a leash," Marcel shot in return with a smirk on his lips.

Kol's supernatural features appeared and went to advance on Marcel, but Gwen's hand on his chest and Klaus stepping in front of Marcel stopped his assault as his face returned to normal. "Kol," she tugged on his hand, and Kol turned to her with his glare still in place. "Why don't we go back to our room?" She gave Klaus a smile. "It's been a long day."

Klaus raised a hand to stop her. "I didn't ask for details, Cat."

"I didn't say anything," she muttered to him before pulling Kol with her towards their bedroom.

Klaus and Marcel watched as Gwen tugged on Kol's hand behind her as they walked up the stairs to reach the second floor. "Again, sorry I kidnapped her," Marcel muttered as he took another sip of the flask Klaus offered him. "I needed the leverage."

"I would've done the same, and everything is behind us," Klaus said as he nodded his head before he turned serious. "She's important to me, Marcel, and I don't have the luxury of saying that often."

Marcel also turned serious. "What is up between you two?"

"We met through a tragic event," Klaus began to explain. "It was her birthday and her last night as a human with a mother, a father and a sister. She came back as something between this world and purgatory. And she became a good friend to me."

"She's never disappointed you?" Marcel asked, finding it hard to believe that Gwen had endured Klaus for so long and still remained his friend.

Klaus noticed Marcel's train of thought and chuckled. "She has, but she also set me straight whenever I got too out of line." He chuckled at the many memories of Gwen yelling and hitting him and throwing things at him. "She has a spark."

Marcel nodded. "She sure does."

* * *

Davina knelt on the floor of her new room in the Abattoir, a request from Marcel and Klaus to keep her safe from the witches of New Orleans. She was currently working on unpacking her few belongings from the cardboard boxes. Her bed was already made and she had a dresser and a bathroom to herself, which she enjoyed better than the attic at St. Anne's Church. In the Compound, she had much more space and room to breathe. The attic had been her safe haven, but she needed this freedom.

"Need some help?"

Davina looked up and found the source of the voice as Gwen smiled at her from where she leaned against the doorway of Davina's room. Davina smiled in return and stood up as Gwen stepped into the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm pacing myself," Davina said as she stood in front of Gwen and raised an eyebrow. "How was the cemetery?"

Gwen chuckled. "I don't know how he did it, but Kol has ways of turning everything into a romantic event when he really wants to." She looked around the room, noticing how little possessions Davina had, but she was interested in the paintings against the walls. "You have a talent."

"We all do," said Davina. "I just need to keep practicing."

"Speaking of that," Gwen started as she remembered something vital about Davina. "Kol is very familiar with witches; he is even helping me with my own magic. I was thinking that maybe you'd like to learn a few tricks from him to control your own power."

"That'd be great, considering we're like neighbors," said Davina, but she frowned. "I do need him to behave. He seems like he can be a..." she stopped herself with a clearing of her throat and chuckled nervously. "I shouldn't say it."

"A jerk?" Gwen supplied. "He can also be cheeky, unreasonable and cocky; there are many adjectives you can use to describe him." They both chuckled at this. "But he is good." She hummed and thought about what she said. "Well, he's good to me."

"That's better," Davina chuckled. "I can see how much he cares about you."

Gwen smiled, feeling that familiar warmth that came whenever she was around Kol and found that she itched to go to him. "Well, you can come to me for anything, Davina." She took Davina's hands in her own and smiled at the young brunette. "I'd like us to be good friends and maybe it's because you remind me of my sister." Gwen sighed and gave Davina a tight smile. "I want you to know that people will try to use you to get ahead, don't let them."

"Thanks, Gwen," Davina said and nodded as she smiled at Gwen; feeling much better that she had an ally, especially one that was close to all of the Originals.

"Goodnight, Davina," Gwen said before she left to go to her own bedroom.

Davina smiled, even after Gwen left. She did feel better that she now had a friend in the Abattoir. She sighed before she kneeled back down to a box to continue unpacking her belongings to be able to give it a home in her new room. It was rather late and she hoped she didn't get any more visitors or surprises.

* * *

"Look," Marcel began as he paced in front of a sitting Rebekah in the Garden. She was not happy after her last encounter with Klaus, especially when he still banned her and Elijah from their original home in New Orleans. And to make matters worse for her, Gwen refused to answer her calls or texts and Elijah was trying to make amends with Klaus, instead of siding with her. But with Marcel now siding with Klaus, she lost her last ally. "Things are good with your brother right now. He wants to run things with me as partners, but if we keep meeting like this behind his back…" He sighed and stopped pacing to gather his thoughts. He hated to do this to Rebekah, but he couldn't just think about himself this time around. "You said it yourself, whatever it takes to stay alive."

"Oh, this is about survival, is it?" Rebekah mocked as she scowled at Marcel. "If you were this pathetic a liar with my brother, I'm surprised he hasn't killed you already."

"Come on, Rebekah," Marcel said and turned to her as he sheepishly looked down at her.

"The only reward anyone ever gets from loving Niklaus is suffering and death," argued Rebekah. Rebekah knew from the moment her eyes met Marcel's since she first arrived that he had already made his decision, but that didn't mean it helped appease her anger. "You're choosing him over me, aren't you…again?"

"Rebekah, I got people to look out for," he said, justifying his decision and took a seat next to her on one of the few benches they had in the Garden. "And Klaus is offering me a chance to do that." Rebekah refused to meet his eyes, deciding to first calm herself. "With Davina and Klaus' friend working their magic against the witches and an Original with his brother by my side, that's not something I can just turn my back on, not even for you."

Rebekah turned to face him, her face devoid of emotion. "When you were reliving history with my brother, did you happen to revisit what came next in 1919, or have you forgotten our little secret?" Marcel froze at the very thought of what would happen, if Klaus ever caught wind of what he and Rebekah did to him in 1919. "I know the words that will make him hate you forever." Her words only proved to Marcel that Rebekah was no longer his ally. "Remember that when you're embracing your new family."

"And you can remember where your family and friends are for when you go home to an empty house," Marcel shot back before he stood up and left her in the Garden, upset that she could not understand why he had to do this.

* * *

Klaus entered the Abattoir late at night and headed for the stairs that would lead him to his room to put this night behind him. Dealing with siblings that only saw the worst in him was tiring, even when he has earned such treatment. But they did give him a piece of information about his biological family, his father's family. It didn't mean it hurt any less. It was also tiring beginning to care for someone as fragile as a human that had seen the worst parts of his life as a supernatural being. But these emotions were for his mind to contemplate and mull over. He stopped halfway up the flight of stairs when he felt a familiar presence behind him.

"Haven't you had your fill of telling me all the ways I've disappointed you, Elijah?" Klaus asked as Elijah looked up at his brother's back from the first floor.

"Well, there is something important we neglected to discuss," said Elijah. He waited for Klaus to turn around to stare down at him. He knew he hurt Klaus when he accused him of having ill intentions with a child he was beginning to want, let alone having had magically known that it could produce hybrids. "I accused you of having ulterior motives regarding the child." Elijah gulped down and gathered himself before he looked up to meet Klaus' ocean eyes with his own brown ones. "I was wrong." Klaus' mouth falls open to say something, but nothing comes out, so Elijah continued. "I'm sorry."

Klaus sighed as he cleared his throat. "I imagine that must have been hard for you to say."

Elijah took a sharp intake of air, his lips tightening into a thin line. "You don't make it easy to love you, brother."

"And yet you're obstinate in your desire to do so," said Klaus. Elijah remained silent, waiting for Klaus to pass judgment. "When you're ready, should you be so inclined"—and that was as close to an apology as Elijah would get from Klaus—"both you and Rebekah are welcome to join me here." He turned around and continued his path up the stairs. "It is, after all, our family home."

* * *

"Why do you care so much about that little witch?" Kol asked as he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and steam flowing into the room from his shower, while Gwen searched for one of Kol's shirts to sleep in as she stood in nothing but her underwear. "She's only a pawn of Klaus and Marcel."

"I know, but she's still a kid," Gwen argued as she picked out a long-sleeved, dark green Henley of Kol's with buttons at the top only. She turned around and was unfazed to have Kol only a few inches away from her with his hair dripping water on his bare chest and floor, already used to him sneaking up on her. "And she has so much on her shoulders."

"Darling, I want you to prepare yourself for what is sure to come," Kol said, to which Gwen frowned. "There will come a time in the future when you will have to choose between the Claire witch and Klaus." Gwen nodded as Kol placed his hands on her waist and leaned close to her. "And we both know which of the two you'll choose."

"You forget that I'd choose you over them," Gwen said as she grinned up at Kol with her arms wrapped around his neck, his shirt still in her grasp. He grinned as he brought her body closer to his, his nose gracing her own. She dug her fingers into his hair and brushed her lips against his. "I'll always choose you."

Kol didn't wait another second before he placed his lips on hers, kissing her slowly and passionately, but he quickly deepened the kiss as his hands ghosted over her bare skin, which made her feel like she was on fire. Their lips moved in sync as Kol pushed her against the dresser, stroking his body against hers, and she was amazed at how his towel remained wrapped around his waist. She dropped his shirt and rubbed her hands on his chest, needing to feel closer to him as his lips moved from her swollen mouth, to her jaw and then to her neck, while she moaned and mewled his name. Kol wanted her and wanted to worship her body, but his growing fangs told him he was in need of something else as her scent drifted into his nostrils. Gwen cupped his left cheek as he sucked on the right side of her neck and pushed him away to see his eyes were red with protruded veins under them. She looked up at him, tracing the tip of her finger over his bottom lip and smiled.

"I trust you," she muttered and that was enough for Kol as he pushed away her blonde locks from her right shoulder.

Gwen leaned up on the tip of her toes and kissed his cheek, while he wrapped one arm under her shoulder and the other held the back of her neck before his fangs pierced her neck. She groaned from the initial stinging pain, but hugged him close to her as he fed on her blood. Kol moaned as her blood flooded his gums and went down his throat; it felt euphoric. She tapped his shoulder when his fangs dug deeper into her skin and he immediately pulled away before he crashed his bloodied lips against her own. He growled as he grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her onto the desk next to the dresser. He felt like he was on a high and ran on adrenaline as he massaged her breasts through the fabric of her bra, while his lips stained hers with her own blood.

"Kol," she moaned against his lips as her legs wrapped around his waist. She was about to unwrap his towel that miraculously clung to his waist, but a feverish knocking on their door interrupted them. "Someone's at the door," she said, but Kol continued to kiss and suck the blood that was still on her neck and shoulder.

"Ignore them," he said, but it turned into a groan when Gwen pushed him away with a smirk on her lips. "Cheeky thing." He clashed his lips with her own, trying to make her ignore the knocking. It was beginning to work as she moaned when he moved his lips to that sweet spot behind her ear, but the knocking continued. "You must have a death wish!" He turned away from Gwen and walked over to the door, allowing Gwen some time to put on his shirt that she had previously dropped during their intimate moment. He made sure she was covered before he pulled open the door to reveal Davina and Josh, to who he glared at. "What the bloody hell do you want at this hour?"

Davina was flustered at seeing Kol half-naked, but became alarmed when she saw blood on the corners of his lips. "Where's Gwen?"

Kol smirked. "What, afraid I've drain her dry?"

Gwen pushed him aside and revealed herself to Davina and Josh. "Ignore him, we were just…" she cleared her throat as Davina and Josh stared at her with inquisitive eyes. "We were just trying to keep our relationship alive." She turned to Kol and they both sarcastically smiled at one another before Gwen turned her attention back to Davina. "You need anything?"

"Can we talk?" Davina asked and glanced at Kol, which was enough for Gwen to know that she wanted to have a private conversation.

Kol took the hint and raised his hands in surrender. "Don't mind me," he said as he leaned close to Gwen. "I'll just take a cold shower."

"See that you do," she replied.

"Cheeky little minx," he mumbled as he left to go take another shower to get rid of the blood on his mouth and to calm his burning body. He turned back and glared at Josh. "You look at her in any funny way and you'll be disemboweling yourself."

"I'm gay," Josh mumbled, still scared about the threat.

Kol raised an eyebrow. "You still have eyes, don't you?"

"Shower," Gwen said as she pushed Kol into the room. She turned to Davina and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door to her bedroom behind her. "What's up?" She noticed Josh averting his eyes from her figure, and huffed. "He was joking."

"Didn't sound like he was," Josh argued as he continued to avoid meeting her gaze.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Davina asked as her eyes landed on Gwen's punctured neck with blood smeared all over it and the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah," Gwen assured her and rubbed her lips with the sleeve of Kol's shirt. "We just got a little bit carried away." She frowned at Davina. "You do know the story of the birds and the bees, right?" Davina rolled her eyes at her, to which Gwen chuckled. "Sorry, just making sure I didn't add another trauma to your hard-enough life." She grasped the hem of the shirt and made sure it stayed down. "What do you need?"

"Is it true?" Davina asked, turning serious.

Gwen's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The witch Elders, are they dead?" asked Davina.

"I don't know," Gwen said in all honesty, her mind not focusing after having almost been sent on a blissful high by Kol. "I think so, why?" Davina looked hurt, and Gwen regretted ever saying anything. "What's going on, sweetie?"

"Marcel lied to me," Davina mumbled. "He's using me to remain in power and Klaus wants to do the same."

"Davina, I won't let them hurt you," Gwen said as she grabbed one of the brunette's hands in her own. "We'll sort things out tomorrow, just go get some rest."

Davina shook her head. "I need to go; I need to leave the city."

"Davina, calm down," Gwen said as she placed her hands on Davina's shoulders. "I'm sure I can talk to Klaus about this and find a solution, all right?" Davina knew that Gwen was trying to help, but her way didn't satisfy her. But to keep her from suspecting anything, she nodded at Gwen and took deep breaths. Gwen smiled and hugged her. "I'm sure things will clear up before you know it."

"Thanks, Gwen." Davina hugged back and stepped away to walk away with Josh.

Gwen remained unknown to Davina's plan of sneaking off that very night. Gwen watched Davina disappear around a corner and sighed as she hugged her middle. She worried about the young girl and how she had entered the supernatural fold at such a young age, but she shook her head and stepped back into her room.

* * *

 **End of the chapter! And the start of summer vacation. I can't wait to finish up this chapter this summer, so I can give you guys the ending to the first Season of The Originals. It's taken me so long to finish, but we'll get there soon. I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave your thoughts and opinions in your reviews.**

 **Again, I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **Have a wonderful summer!**

 **See ya later!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey, Guys! I apologize for the late update, but I was having problems with uploading my file and I finally managed to get it through. Now, I am excited for this chapter and I really hope you guys like it. We keep opening up about Kol and Gwen's future together before we're hit with the conflicts of the Season 1 of The Originals.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

* * *

"How many dresses do you have?" Gwen gasped as she continued to rummage through the chests that Klaus had taken out of storage for the event of the day, a day that was pronounced as a day for Casket Girls in honor of the brave Casket Girls that were brought from France to the colonies to marry eligible bachelors. To this day, it had been celebrated. This was the first time Gwen heard it was celebrated in New Orleans as Klaus watched her searching for the perfect wedding dress to wear. "I wish Kol were here to help me sort through this, he left so early in the morning."

"So indulging is my brother that my presence no longer suits you," Klaus whined mockingly from where he sat on the sofa in the living room, earning himself an eye roll from Gwen as she held up dresses to place over her body to see how it would look on her, but she had yet to find the perfect dress. "You do know it's not your actual wedding, don't you?"

"Don't remind me," she mumbled as she folded the dress she had in hand back into the chest before moving on to the next.

Klaus raised his eyebrows, interested to know more. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know," Gwen sighed as she stopped looking for a dress and went over to Klaus, sitting in front of him in the coffee table. "He asked me some weird questions about what I wanted in life before I died, and stuff like that always gets him brooding, which is a look I thought that had skipped him in your family."

Klaus smirked. "Aren't you a delight?"

"Mouse?" she sighed and her eyes pleaded for something that would calm her, and Klaus would do just that. And he'd have to have a little talk with Kol about this topic.

"Don't worry about a thing, Cat," Klaus said as he grabbed her hands and had her stand up with him. "I'll figure out what is wrong with my dimwitted little brother and appease your fears, so don't worry your little head over it." He led her to another chest that Gwen had yet to check for a costume and kneeled down to open it. "Now, let us find a dress to have my brother drop and desiccate, if only to put a stop to your nightly activities." He made a sound of victory. "Here we are."

Gwen's cheeks flushed at Klaus' comment as she watched Klaus bring out a dress from the chest and unfolded it from the brown paper it was neatly folded in. He held the dress by its sleeves and presented it to Gwen. She was amazed at how beautiful it was. It was an all-over floral, lace, sheath, ivory wedding dress with tank sleeves. It featured a scalloped lace v-neckline that had an empire waist with grosgrain ribbon and open keyhole back. The dress wasn't too formal with a wide skirt and it seemed comfortable. It was not the dress she would wear for her _actual_ wedding, but it was perfect for the day.

Klaus noticed the look on Gwen's face and grinned at her. "I think I found _the_ dress."

Gwen grinned at him before she took the dress and hugged it.

* * *

Kol grinned at the masses of people that filled the streets of New Orleans. There were people of all types. Many women wore wedding dresses to honor the Casket Girls of the 1700s and partied like there was no end, and it was only morning. There were other more modest girls in different costumes, but still honoring the theme of the day. All the while, men were either dressed nicely with a partner or casual as the also partied with marching bands and other musical groups on top of platforms to perform. He really did miss the parties of New Orleans, they celebrated everything and anything. Kol stopped walking in front of a store that he had been meaning to visit for a while, but never made the effort to actually go to it, until today.

Kol stilled himself and took a deep breath as his mind ran faster than he could think. Still, he reached for the glass door of the jewelry store called 'Wellington & Company'. Kol's body instantly went cold as he looked around the store, noticing few other customers. It was a spacious store with many counters of glass that displayed rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and many other objects. The floor was red carpet and it had a few jewelers that tended to the few customers that were in the store. He could have found comfort in the knowledge of another man in his same position being in the store that day, but his luck ran out when there were only women, and he noticed two of them had noticed him and grinned at him, but payed them no mind, not even a smile in greeting.

Kol cleared his throat and began to walk around the store with his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans, not knowing what to do with himself as he surveyed the jewelry store's interior. His mind finally started to work with him the longer he spent walking around the store. He relaxed and breathed normally, and was glad to finally find the area that had the rings. He looked down and scanned the many rings placed on display, but none seemed to catch his attention. Gwen was pure, and he'd be damned if he couldn't give her some semblance of that life that she had dreamed of when she was human. He couldn't give her children and he couldn't give her stability, but this was the one thing he could give her.

Kol was interrupted when someone cleared his throat and he looked up to find one of the jewelers of the store. He was a middle-aged man with brown hair that was already graying, and he wore formal attire. "Do you need any help, sir?" asked the man with a partially accented voice, which Kol recognized as French, but it was diluted. The jeweler gave Kol a kind smile from behind the counter. "I recognize a nervous man when I see one, and I can probably guess why." Kol snorted. "I'm Remi."

Kol nodded as he grinned. "I'm Kol, and I honestly have no idea why I'm here."

"I can hazard a guess," said the jeweler. "You want to put a ring on the finger of that special girl of yours."

"I'd love to, but I can't give her everything," Kol mumbled as he looked down at the rings in display. He had too much on his chest and he needed an outsider's opinion, knowing he could compel him later of he slipped up. "She's the angel to my demon, and I can give her everything that is material, but everything else is none debatable." He sighed heavily as he leaned on the glass counter, his eyes still looking over the rings that failed to grab his attention. "She could have stability with anyone else, but she settled for me and the baggage that I carry on my shoulders."

"That's part of loving someone, Mr. Kol," said Remi. "I bet you'd do anything for this girl, and she'd do the same for you."

"You really want me to buy a ring, don't you?" Kol snickered.

"That's part of the job, but I can help making your choice easy," Remi said, grabbing Kol's attention. "If you truly love this girl, then you've already married her." Kol nodded at this and smiled, and Remi winked at him. "The hardest part is finding the perfect ring."

"Every man's nightmare," said Kol as he stood straight and placed his hands on the glass as he continued to survey the rings. It was mighty difficult finding a ring, let alone choosing to go through with proposing. "She's simple and her hair makes her look like an angel with big green eyes that remind me of the forest in the morning." He smiled to himself. "She's the light to my darkness."

"I think I have a ring for you," Remi said and disappeared to the back of the store. Kol waited for Remi to return and looked around him. He rolled his eyes when the same girls that had smiled at him were openly staring at him, one of them even daring to throw him a wink. Remi returned with a small velvet box in his hands and opened the lid to present the ring to Kol, and the latter's breath caught in his throat at how perfect it was. The band of the ring was white gold with a round diamond at the center of some very intricate filigree that had smaller diamonds encrusted on it; it was small and simple. Kol's mind already imagined the ring on Gwen's wedding finger. "This is a diamond engagement ring from our collection with an antique style mounting with a .86 carat round diamond set in the middle, accented by .23 carats total of round diamonds." Kol nodded as he listened to Remi describe the ring. "The .86 carat round brilliant cut diamond is an H in color and SI2 in clarity. The hand finished mounting is made in 14 karat white gold."

Kol took the ring from the velvet box and smiled at it as he brought it closer to his face. The diamond was the perfect size; it wasn't too flashy, it was modest and more into Gwen's tastes. He looked into the diamond and he could already see Gwen's smiling face in it. It was corny, but Kol didn't care; it was how he felt. And he couldn't imagine how it would feel to actually get down on one knee and proposing to her.

"It's perfect," Kol mumbled.

"It's almost five thousand dollars," Remi warned, but Kol waved his hand as he reluctantly returned the ring to Remi.

Kol grinned at Remi. "This is the part where you're supposed to cash it in, mate."

"Let's start with the down payment," Remi suggested and Kol followed him.

* * *

Hayley walked through the hallways after having tried on a wedding dress that Elijah helped her with. She deluded herself to think that she would ever get to wear her own perfect wedding dress for her very own wedding. Those things went out the window when she got involved and pregnant with Klaus. She turned a corner to return the wedding dress back to the chest it was in, but found Rebekah rummaging through it. The werewolf frowned, having not seen Rebekah for a while. Hayley followed Rebekah's eyes and found a tense Klaus a floor above them.

Hayley kneeled to put back the dress in its chest. "So the witch is missing, huh?"

"Walked right out the front door, apparently," said Rebekah, pretending to be looking for a dress, but actually listening to what was being said by her brothers and Marcel. She turned to Hayley. "Know anything about it?"

"No," Hayley answered as she stood up and approached Rebekah, but shook her head when she remembered the night before she had spoken to Davina after Gwen had left the young witch. "Although I did tell her that the witch Elders were dead."

"Well, why would she care when the witches tried to kill her in their ritual?" asked Rebekah.

"I think it was more that Marcel didn't tell her that the one thing preventing her from being free had been eliminated," said Hayley.

Rebekah nodded, now understanding the reason of the situation. "So you are the reason she's run off."

"Hey, I was just telling her the truth," Hayley said in defense of her actions. She and Rebekah looked to Klaus and saw a group of vampires passing Klaus to go down the stairs, probably to go find Davina. "She's the one who realized they were just using her to keep their control over the witches."

"Yeah," Rebekah sighed as she glanced at Klaus. "Well, I've never been a fan of the boys club." She saw Marcel join Klaus at the railing. "Just wait. Elijah will join them, and the three of them will be impossible." She huffed. "Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, and threatened by Klaus—she's like a modern-day Casket Girl."

Hayley raised an eyebrow at Rebekah. "Are you talking about Davina or yourself?"

Rebekah whipped her head to look at Hayley with a sharp look. "Does it matter? Either way, us girls have got to stick together."

"Do you know why that never works?" Gwen asked, appearing from around the corner and approaching Rebekah and Hayley, both startled by her unexpected presence. "Do you know the reason why men work better together, while women are left fighting amongst themselves?" Rebekah and Hayley remained quite as Gwen reached them with her dress draped over her arms. "It's because their simple minds never look at the bigger picture, and they cheat."

Rebekah sighed as she looked at Gwen. "I don't know how many times I have to apologize for you to forgive me."

"I expected groveling," Gwen argued. "Back to the topic, I saw Davina before she left."

"You didn't tell Klaus?" Rebekah asked as she frowned at Gwen.

"No, he'll only use her." Gwen walked over to the railing and looked up to see Klaus leaving with Marcel. "Davina is stuck in a very bad place." She turned to Rebekah. "I need you to find her and make sure she finds someplace safe."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at Gwen. "You'd trust me to do this?"

"I'll forgive you, if you do," said Gwen. "I'll try locating her." She walked to the room next to them with Rebekah and Hayley following her. The room was empty, but Gwen needed to make sure they were not going to be heard by any prying ears. "I have everything we need to locate her and not arouse suspicion, so you'll have the element of surprise." Gwen reached a table where she had left a sage to burn to cloak the room.

"You were prepared to do this with or without me, weren't you?" Rebekah asked as she grinned at Gwen.

Gwen nodded as she grinned in return. "Of course, if only to shift the power struggle the boys outside have." She placed her dress on a sofa chair and returned to the round table that Rebekah and Hayley stood next to with their arms crossed over their chests.

"What do you plan to do?" Hayley asked.

"I'm gonna do a locator spell that allows me to see through Davina's eyes." Gwen lifted a hand and snapped her fingers to light up the candle that was next to the burning sage. She closed her eyes and focused on the candle to channel it. "Phesmatos Physium Calva." She focused on the image of Davina's face. "Phesmatos Physium Calva." Rebekah and Hayley watched as the candle burned brighter, while Gwen held on to the edge of the table. "Phesmatos Physium Calva!"

Gwen's eyes snapped open and changed from their normal pale green to the familiar blue hue of Davina's. Gwen's vision was no longer in the living room with Rebekah and Hayley, but in an apartment. It was blurry at first, but it cleared the more she blinked. Gwen groaned as she felt her connection breaking as Davina fought her. Gwen's vision shifted as Davina looked around her, and the blonde saw the familiar faces of Camille and a vampire she knew was named Josh from serving Klaus. Gwen's head throbbed harder the longer she fought to see through Davina's eyes, but she managed to grip onto Davina. Gwen groaned and pulled herself out of the spell as she panted from having to fight Davina's power. Rebekah was next to her in a second, helping Gwen to the sofa chair.

"What did you see?" Rebekah asked as she kept her hand on Gwen's shoulder.

Gwen looked up at Rebekah and Hayley and cleared her throat, feeling exhausted after having fought the wall of magic that surrounded Davina. "She's with her friend, Josh, and they are in Camille's apartment."

"The bartender?" asked Hayley. "She's human, Davina is just a girl and Josh is a horrible vampire; Klaus will tear them apart in no time."

"Not if I find her first," said Rebekah.

* * *

Kol released a heavy sigh from his lips as he walked along the hallway that led to his and Gwen's bedroom. It was nighttime and he had promised to take Gwen to the party of the Casket Girls that was being hosted along the streets of New Orleans, if only to give her a new taste of culture and activities that were done in different parts of the globe. He was especially excited to introduce New Orleans' traditions because it was one of the few places he considered his home, considering the long time he and his siblings lived there in relative peace.

Kol reached the door to his bedroom and opened the door without making a sound. He frowned when he failed to see Gwen in the room, but a low humming sound drew him to the walk-in closet that was installed in the room. He grinned as he walked closer to the closet, and made a mental note to get Gwen to sing for him again. He reached the closet and his breath was practically ripped from his lungs when his eyes landed on Gwen's figure. The wedding dress that Klaus had given to her hugged her curves in the right ways. His mouth was wide and his teeth were visible in a blissful smile as he leaned his right shoulder on the doorframe, his eyes trained on Gwen as she looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair was curled up in a messy bun with curled bangs framing her face. Her signature necklace rested on her chest some inches above her neckline with it and her earring being her only accessories.

"So, is it safe to say you'll be the one in white?" Kol asked, causing Gwen to jump and turn around in her heels to look at Kol with wide eyes and a hand over her chest.

"Oh, you scared me," Gwen breathed as she smiled at him.

Kol beckoned Gwen over to him with an extended hand. "And you look beautiful."

Gwen blushed at the compliment and reached Kol, placing her hand in his. He pulled her to his chest with his other arm going around her waist. Gwen placed her free hand on his shoulder and giggled when he started to sway them around the room with no source of music to dictate their movements, but they didn't care. They were happy to dance in each other's arms. And Kol's mind went directly to the ring he had to pick up during the week with no plan as to how he would be proposing it to her, but his mind was in the present.

"I need to shower, and seeing that you've gone ahead and readied yourself, I'll be having a rather cold shower," Kol said with a pout on his lips that Gwen pecked.

Gwen chuckled at his wondering hands and pushed him towards the bathroom. "Bath time!"

"So bossy," Kol retorted before he closed himself off inside the bathroom, but not before throwing Gwen his winning grin.

Gwen walked over to her vanity after making sure that Kol was in the shower and picked up her phone. She searched for Rebekah's before she dialed it. She put the phone up to her ear and waited for Rebekah to pick up her call, which didn't take too long.

" _Hello?_ " Rebekah's voice asked from the other end of the line.

Gwen recognized the sound of trumpets and other musical instruments in the background on Rebekah's end. "Where are you?" she whispered. "Did you find Davina?"

" _No luck,_ " said Rebekah. " _The apartment was empty. I'm out on the streets trying to find them before Klaus or Marcel does._ "

"Okay, call me when you find her," Gwen said before she hung up the call, and she felt quite frustrated with the lack of result.

Gwen only wanted to help Davina, but didn't want to cause any trouble with Klaus. So she was left with a choice. She looked to the bathroom's closed door and decided not to involve Kol, considering Klaus could very well punish her by punishing Kol and that was the last thing she wanted. But she needed to help a teenage girl who was too deep into something that she barely understood with too much power and an attitude to go with it, which was not a good combination. She saw her sister in Davina, and she didn't want the girl to suffer anymore. Gwen reached for a notebook on the desk next to her dresser and wrote Kol a note that told him what she planned to do and that she only wanted to see Davina safe. And with nothing else, she left to go find Davina.

* * *

Music played loudly along the streets of New Orleans and it continued long past the setting of the sun, and the people still continued to party and have a good time as they celebrated the festival of the Casket Girls. Bands played their music, people dressed up for the occasion and none of it was a waste, considering they were honoring the past. Along the main street, hoping to camouflage among the people, Camille accompanied Davina, who was dressed for the occasion in an antique wedding dress to blend in while also covering her face with a small, black veil.

"There are people everywhere," Davina said to Camille nervously.

"Just keep walking," Camille said as she grasped Davina's hand in hers and squeezed it in comfort. "No one knows it's you."

Davina froze in her tracks when she spotted the familiar figure of Klaus, causing Camille to notice him as well. "Cami."

"We have to get off the street." It was the first thing that came into Camille's mind before she pulled Davina into an obscure alley that was less crowded to get away from Klaus' eyes.

Having missed Camille and Davina, Klaus's eyes zeroed in on his older brother having a whispered conversation with Marcel, which immediately alerted him. So he decided to approach the pair. The last thing he needed was his brother and Marcel to have a secret agenda that concerned Davina. It was bad enough that she escaped right under their noses, he was not about to let her get away.

"Kieran is gonna call me first if he hears anything," Marcel informed Elijah, trying not to raise his voice too much, but enough for Elijah to hear over the noise of the festival.

"Ah, you two look rather cozy," said Klaus as he appeared next to Elijah and Marcel.

Marcel sighed. "Hardly." He was growing frustrated the longer they went without finding Davina. "I was just telling Elijah how we're wasting time."

Klaus pursed his lips. "You don't like festivals?"

"I don't see why not?" Rebekah piped in as she appeared from the mass of people and approached her brothers and Marcel. "Who doesn't love a street fair?"

"Sister, come to help us find our stray?" asked Klaus.

"We can't let your secret weapon get in the wrong hands, can we?" Rebekah said with sarcasm lacing the tone of her voice while giving Klaus a mirthless smile.

"For the record, we are moments away from retrieving her," said Klaus. His eyes found Kol and pointed at his brother. "Here is our retriever." He frowned when he failed to see Gwen anywhere near Kol. "Where's Gwen?"

Kol approached his brothers and sighed. "She's not with me." He was angry, but he was not about to tell Klaus what Gwen was up to. "She was gone when I came out of the bathroom and failed to point out where she was headed." His eyes locked with Rebekah's, both exchanging a knowing look that went unnoticed by the people around them. One thing that Kol and Rebekah shared was the way they managed to communicate without so much as mumbling a single word. "I need to find her."

"We all know that our Gwen is going after Davina," Klaus said as he thought back to Gwen's many discussions about wanting Davina to be kept safe and out of danger. He knew her better than herself and it upset him that she acted without consulting him, but he was not going to punish her; he lost strength to do such a thing over simple things such as the one they were dealing with. "We just have to catch up," he said as he grinned.

"I recognize that tone of voice, Niklaus," Elijah sighed as he looked at Klaus' smirking face. "Clearly, you have some diabolical machination. What is it?"

Klaus smirked before he walked away from his siblings and Marcel to approach a familiar young man that he had previously encountered and compelled to get to Davina. "Timothy," he greeted the young man. Timothy turned at the call of his name, and Klaus placed a hand on his shoulder before locking eyes with the human. "Might I have a word?"

While Klaus conversed with Timothy with Elijah and Marcel watching from afar, Kol pulled Rebekah away from their siblings and Marcel by her arm. They stood some good feet away from prying ears. "I need a favor, sister."

"I am done playing puppet to our brothers, so don't bother asking me the same," Rebekah snapped with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't care about our brothers or the damn witch," Kol raged while he whispered. "I need you to find Gwen. I don't care how she handled Klaus before, but I'd rather not find out."

"Of course I'll find her," said Rebekah sympathetically. "What will you do?"

Kol glanced at his brothers and sighed. "I'll stick with our brothers; make sure they don't do anything stupid."

"Good luck with that," Rebekah said before she was on her way.

* * *

Gwen walked along the streets of New Orleans, leaving the loud music behind her after having performed a locator spell. It was not accurate, since Davina seemed to be on the move, but she managed to be near the area where she had pinpointed her location to. She knew she was going to deal with angry Mikaelsons, but she needed to get past this and deal with the music later. Gwen jumped when she felt her phone vibrate in a small pocket that was sewn into the right side of her dress, invisible to anyone's eyes, except for the knowledge of it being there.

Gwen frowned at the caller ID before putting the phone to her ear. "Hayley?"

" _Gwen, good, I need your help,_ " said Hayley.

"Is the baby all right?" Gwen asked, getting straight to the source of any danger.

" _Baby is fine,_ " Hayley chuckled, not used to people asking about the baby so much. " _I have another problem with another certain witch._ "

"Which one, I kind of gave up on keeping track with the homicidal witches of this city," said Gwen as she continued to walk down a sidewalk.

" _Sophie,_ " Hayley muttered, which caused Gwen to halt her steps.

"What does she want now?" Gwen asked, nervous about what Sophie could possibly want. "Isn't it enough to have a target on her back with the name Mikaelson branded on it?"

" _I know, but she made a compelling case,_ " said Hayley. " _I don't know much of witch burial sites, but she asked for one that shared a past with Elijah, I just want to make sure that I am not being stupid about this._ "

"Did she tell you what it's for?" asked Gwen as she began to walk once more, her eyes roaming the figures of young girls that resembled Davina. "You don't give her anything vital and things should be fine."

" _Okay, but I might need your help, if things don't go to plan,_ " said Hayley.

Gwen huffed. "Fine, but I can only deal with one problem at a time. Get as much information from Sophie as you can, don't do anything stupid, and then we'll talk with Kol." She hung up the call without waiting for Hayley's response. She then continued to walk while searching for Davina.

"Gwen!"

Gwen turned around at the call of her name and was relieved that it was Rebekah as she worked her way through the crowd to get to her. It was a rather late hour, but the party was still going. The area they were in was crowded, but it was not the heart of the party. Gwen met Rebekah in the middle. "Did you find Davina?"

"No, but my brothers will have her in the next hour," Rebekah said, causing Gwen to groan out of frustration. "They're planning to use the girl's high school sweetheart to lure her to the Compound."

"Great," Gwen mumbled. "And I have no idea where she might be."

Rebekah looked behind Gwen and smirked when her eyes landed on Josh and Davina speaking in front of a closed store, secluded from people that could recognize their faces. "Found them." She pointed at them and Gwen turned to look at them, while Rebekah listened in on their conversation. "And he practically told her to walk to her own death."

Gwen and Rebekah exchanged a look before they approached the pair. They watched Davina leave Josh and disappeared in the crowd of people. Josh looked solemn and thought that he did something good, but that was far from the truth. Josh went to leave the street, but immediately froze in place when he was met with Rebekah and Gwen.

"That was very sweet," said Rebekah with a mocking tone.

Gwen huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And stupid."

"Not telling Davina that if she kills Klaus, you die, too, very noble," Rebekah remarked with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket. Josh held strong and made sure not to react. "Problem is, if she goes after my brother, she'll be the one who ends up dead."

"Let's not forget that she'd be going against three Mikaelson brothers," added Gwen. "And I'm sorry if I cannot let that happen."

Josh began to look nervous. "What will you do to her?"

"Nothing, really," Gwen said. She felt quite offended that Josh would think that she'd do anything to harm Davina, but then Kol's words echoed in her mind. He said she'd have to choose between Klaus and Davina, and he was right; she already knew who she'd choose, so that was why she wanted to avoid to ever reaching that choice. "But she is in a predicament that she knows nothing about. That's not the only thing; you were willing to end the many lives of people that most have lives with loved ones." Gwen snapped her fingers, sending Josh a wave of pain throughout his head, to which he hissed at. "I hate people like you, so selfish, which also guaranteed Davina's death."

"A very unnecessary end to an already-tragic story," Rebekah said and stepped closer to Josh in a very intimidating manner that had Josh on high alert. "Perhaps you'd like to help us help her."

"Considering we are the only ones who know the ending to this tragic story," said Gwen, leaving Josh to make a very hard decision.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Kol bought a ring! But don't think it's going to be that easy from now on. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Remember to review your thoughts and opinions, Like your Follows and Love your Faves. I'll be posting soon, so be on the lookout.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hey, Guys! Here is yet another chapter for you guys to enjoy. We are just about to close the Harvest Girls chapter and then on to the whole twister of the resurrected witches and secrets from the Originals. Things will be progressing a lot better and a lot more drama will be coming along nicely, you guys will just have to sit back and wait for it. I love your reviews, they motivate me to continue!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

* * *

"Where's Rebekah gotten off to?" Klaus asked Elijah as they walked down the stairs that led to Compound's courtyard while listening to violin being played by Timothy. Klaus and his brothers had reconvened back in the Compound with Marcel, waiting for Davina to appear.

"It's not Rebekah that I'm concerned about," Elijah sighed as he followed Klaus down the stairs. He was worried about Klaus' intense methods to get things done, but he couldn't find it in himself to argue with his younger brother about the matter. "And how can you be certain that Davina will come?"

"One might think you've forgotten what it's like to be in the grip of an all-consuming infatuation," Klaus said s they reached the first floor and went to join Kol, who was smirking while he stared up at Timothy. "She'll come."

"Most definitely," mumbled Kol before he turned to Klaus. "I'm impressed, Nik."

"Thank you, little brother," said Klaus.

"Are the maudlin theatrics absolutely necessary, Niklaus?" Elijah asked as he also stared up at Timothy with his brothers. The three of them stared up at Timothy seated on one of the rafters in the Compound as he played his violin that, had it not been for Klaus' compulsion, he would have plummeted to his death in his own fright.

"It's a fair point," said Klaus. "Timothy!" His call caused Timothy to stop playing his violin and look down at Klaus from high up on the rafter, looking positively calm about being so high up from the ground. "Play something a little more upbeat, please." Timothy did as Klaus asked and began to play something livelier. "That's a good lad."

"It's a nice touch," Kol supplied, earning a grin from Klaus and an eye roll from Elijah. Kol turned to Klaus. "Any word from Gwen?"

"Nightwalkers are on the lookout," said Klaus. "They'll report to us when they spot her." Just then, Marcel returned to the Compound, entering through the front door before he glanced at Timothy and joined the Mikaelson brothers. "Took you long enough to spread the word."

"Well, have you met his Nightwalkers," Elijah said in annoyance, his comment intended to come out as an insult to Marcel's men and lack of resourcefulness. "Not the brightest assortment."

"More like lap dogs," said Kol.

"All that matters is, I got it covered," Marcel said, ignoring Elijah's and Kol's comments. "When Davina gets here, you three need to let me do the talking."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have your chance," Klaus said and stepped around Marcel to meet the figure of Davina entering the Compound, having felt her presence. "Hello, love." Klaus recognized the look of determination on Davina's face and he was glad he had taken his precautions beforehand, should things escalate. He looked up at Timothy, making sure Davina knew it was her love interest up there. "Silence is golden, Timothy. Thank you."

Davina looked up at the mention of Timothy, who stopped playing his violin and looked down with a frown on his facial features. "Davina?"

Davina was nervous as it was, having left an unconscious Camille in St. Anne's Church after having confronted a group of witches that had gone after her and paid the price with their lives. Davina turned to Klaus. "You got me here, now let him down."

"Well, first, we have to have a little chat about you returning to the fold," Klaus said, growing irritated with the young witch that seemed to become a constant thorn on his side.

"What did I say, Klaus?" Marcel whispered to Klaus. "I got this." He turned his attention to Davina, his eyes softening when they landed on her. "D, what happened? Why'd you run? Talk to me." She still looked upset and it unsettled him to see her like that. "Hey, I can make it right."

"How, by threatening my friend?" snapped Davina.

"Actually, that was my idea. Apologies," said Klaus, growing impatient. "I've been known to go too far to make a point, but I do always get results."

Davina chuckled as she stared up at Klaus, her unwavering eyes settling on him. "You pretend to be so confident, but I know the truth. You're afraid everyone can see what you really are—n animal." She lifted her hand and casted a spell to inflict him pain that brought Klaus to his knees as he groaned in pain. Elijah, Kol and Marcel went to aid Klaus, but Davina pushed them back a few feet with her other hand and had them kneeling on the ground. She turned her attention back on Klaus. "A beast." Klaus' yells grew higher as she continued her spell. "Why don't you show us your real face?" Klaus' bone snapped and his features took a more wolf-like appearance as Davina forced his body to partially turn. "That's enough of you." She silenced Klaus by telekinetically snapping his neck, his body dropping to the floor.

"Davina!" Davina turned her attention to Elijah as he kneeled on the floor. "You don't have to do this."

"You!" Davina sidestepped Klaus' body and approached Elijah, glaring down at him. She raised her hand, causing Elijah's body to straighten up, but still kneeling. "You looked me in the eyes and lied to my face, pretended you wanted to help me."

"Listen to me," Elijah said, his voice wavering from the pain that surfaced from being in Davina's hold. "You call yourself the noble one, but you're a killer just like your brother. For a thousand years you fed on innocent blood. Why don't you choke on it?" Davina casted another spell that caused Elijah to regurgitate all of the blood he had consumed in his long life, staining his clothes as he tried to choke it out, but fell unconscious with a mouth full of blood.

"Aren't you just a peach?" Kol snickered, causing Davina to turn to him. "What about me, hmm?" He was tempting her, but only to see her limits. "I've killed thousands and turned many, probably as much or more than Niklaus. I am not noble, not a little bit, so what have you to say about me?"

Davina shook her head. "You're just as bad as your brothers, maybe even worse, and you drag down Gwen with you." She raised her hand and made his chest tighten, causing him to cough. "You don't deserve her."

Kol chuckled as he placed his hands over his chest while groaning from the pain. "You think I don't know that?" He yelped when she tightened his chest further, but managed to chuckle. "Do whatever you want, but I've had worse." Davina's glare deepened before she snapped his neck with a wave of her hand.

"Davina!" Gwen called as she entered the Compound by herself. Davina turned around, surprised to see Gwen, also wearing an antique wedding dress for the festival. "That's enough, don't you think?"

"They're all liars," Davina ranted. "We don't have to do anything they say; we have the power to defeat them." She then turned to Marcel, showing Gwen a side of her that worried her. "And you!" Marcel climbed back on his feet, wary of what Davina might do to him, if he didn't calm her down. "I trusted you. I loved you, but you were just using me to stay in power. You don't care about me."

"You're wrong," Marcel pleaded.

"When you lost to Klaus, you handed me over like some trophy," Davina argued, shaking her head. "Maybe I should boil you in bronze."

"I care." Marcel's eyes softened, trying to reach out to Davina. "I took you in lie you were my own blood."

Davina released a silent sob with no tears staining her yes. She gasped when Rebekah suddenly appeared and stabbed Marcel through the chest with a wrought-iron poker. He choked for a moment before he, too, fell unconscious onto the ground like Rebekah's siblings. Davina watched as Marcel's body dropped to the ground.

Rebekah frowned at Davina. "Come on now, love. Don't tell me you were falling for that." Davina looked up to Rebekah, while Gwen approached them. "Isn't it time for us girls to have a chat?" She looked around at the neutralized bodies of Klaus, Elijah, Kol and Marcel. "Now, that is impressive, and well-deserved, in my opinion." Davina looked at Rebekah with suspicion, which the Original noticed. "Now, before you turn on me, Weny can vouch for me and I have a surprise for you."

"She's here to help you, Davina," Gwen said when Davina glanced at her for confirmation.

The front door of the Compound opened and closed behind Gwen, alerting them all to Josh as he entered the courtyard. Davina turned around and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw it was Josh, afraid that Rebekah was going to hurt him like her siblings did with everyone around them.

"Josh, what are you doing?" Davina questioned him, but shook her head. "Get out of here."

Rebekah sped over to Josh and grabbed him by his neck, lifting him off of the ground by a few inches. He gagged as Rebekah tightened her hold around his neck, gripping her wrist to try and pry her hands from his neck.

"What are you doing?" Josh managed to choke out.

"What. Can't we play a little rough?" Gwen teased, to which Rebekah smirked at.

Rebekah turned to Davina, her hand still gripping his neck as he struggled to breathe. "Now, if I were Klaus, I would rip Josh's head from his neck, feed it to a Nightwalker, and that would be the end of your friend, isn't that right, Gwen?"

Gwen nodded. "Quite spot on."

Rebekah smiled when Davina breathed in relief when she released Josh. "But hurting people is such a boyish thing to do, like how Klaus compelled your fiddler on the roof, and, while I am many things, I'm certainly not my brother."

Gwen huffed to herself and mumbled so low that Rebekah didn't hear her say, "Of course."

"It's okay, Timothy," Rebekah called to Timothy as they all looked up at him. "You can come down, no one's gonna hurt you."

Timothy glanced at Klaus. "He told me I couldn't climb down off this beam."

"Then don't climb, silly," said Rebekah before she glanced at Gwen. "Are we the only smart ones in the room?"

Gwen shook her head and looked up at Timothy. "Timothy, jump, I'll catch you."

Timothy rearranged his violin, so that he held his instrument in one hand. He gripped the beam with his free hand, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves before he pushed himself off the beam. Gwen raised a hand and caught Timothy in midair, inches from touching the floor. She maneuvered his body and set him on the floor on his feet.

Timothy panted from being frightened at what was happening to him in a single night, disbelieving everything that had happened. He felt strange when meeting Klaus, doing everything he asked without question, he watched Davina bring down three men and another stabbed in the chest, and he was caught by no one when he jumped; his mind was a mess. He turned just in time for Davina to run into his arms, but he pushed her away to lock eyes with her. "Davina, how did you do all that?" He thought harder and realized he didn't have a clue about how anything came to happen. "How did I even get here?"

"I'll explain everything, I promise," Davina promised him as she looked up at him before they embraced one another. She was happy that the boy she fancied was all right, which brought a smile to Gwen's lips. They pulled away and Davina looked to Rebekah. "Why are you doing this?"

"Seems to me you're the one holding all the cards, but you don't know who to trust," Rebekah answered. "I've just proven that you can trust me. Now I'd like to show you one more thing. Won't take long, you can bring your friends."

"Go with her, Davina," Gwen encouraged, causing Davina to frown at her.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Davina.

Gwen smiled and shook her head. "Kol said something that I tried to ignore, but he was right." She sighed as she approached Davina and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am not going to pretend to be on your side, because, when the time comes, I'll choose them"—she glanced at the bodies of Elijah, Klaus and Kol before she returned her attention to Davina—"and disappoint you."

Davina, confused, shook her head. "Why?"

Gwen chuckled. "They're family, my family." She looked at Rebekah pointedly, but looked back at Davina. "They have not disappointed me just yet, so I won't either. You just have to find your own family, and stick with it."

Davina nodded and hugged Gwen, surprising the blonde witch with her actions. Gwen smiled and returned Davina's hug. Rebekah gulped, her mind beginning to doubt her actions against her brothers so far, but steeled her thoughts once more, not letting her heart win out. Gwen let go of Davina and motioned her to go with Rebekah. Rebekah nodded at Gwen before leading Davina, Josh and Timothy out of the Compound. Gwen sighed and made her way over to Kol, deciding to not heal them to give Rebekah time to get Davina to a safe place. She knelt down and placed Kol's head on her lap, feeling that she had made the right decision as she stroked his hair. She only hoped that Rebekah knew better than to make the situation worse by turning Davina against Marcel and her brothers.

* * *

Rebekah had taken Davina, Josh and Timothy to the Garden with her, intending for the young witch to see what was truly going on in New Orleans and the kind of people she had for company. Rebekah walked into the underground prison with a lantern in her hand and Josh holding another one to light the way as Davina stared around her warily. Davina and Timothy froze when they spotted moving limbs sealed into the walls or buried in the ground.

"Oh, don't worry," Josh supplied to calm their nerves. "They're not really dead, just like really hungry." He noticed Timothy's frightened face and stopped himself. "And I'm not helping." He and Rebekah placed the lanterns on different corners to have more light than what the candles provided.

"You think my brother Nik is awful?" Rebekah asked rhetorically. "Marcel learned from the best. This is how he treats his so-called friends who betray him. Most of what these poor souls did is no worse than what Josh did." She pointed to a sealed up body against a wall. "Take Thierry, for example." Davina approached the desiccating body and saw his graying face with protruded veins on his skin. "He was Marcel's most trusted friend. Klaus tricked him into breaking one of Marcel's rules. Marcel knows this, and yet he keeps Thierry locked in here day after day, suffering."

"This is insane," Timothy said, not believing a word that was being spoken.

"Why are you telling me this?" Davina asked Rebekah. "Gwen wanted you to take me someplace safe."

"Gwen is biased," Rebekah argued. "She and my brother are too hooked with each other, and they have made peace with my other brothers' indiscretions to care to go against them. Besides, you need to know who you're dealing with, who you can trust."

Davina looked frightened as she looked around her, which Timothy noticed and approached her. "Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay." He had a bottle of water that he didn't remember he had in his jacket, having taken a sip already, his body doing so without him wanting to. "I mean, you're gonna be all right. Here." He extended his bottle of water to Davina. "Drink something."

Davina sighed and took the bottle that Timothy offered to her. She too the cap off and brought it to her lips to take a sip to calm her nerves. Her mind was absorbing too much information at once with too much happening all at once.

"Davina, both you and I have been lied to and taken advantage of by Marcel and Klaus," Rebekah said, trying to make Davina understand her to take her up on her offer, which she knew that would only anger Gwen. "Maybe together, we can get a little payback."

Timothy gasped and began to cough loudly, feeling like his lungs were giving out. His body began to grow weak against its will and he fell to his knees on the ground, turning everyone's eyes to him.

"Tim?" Davina asked worriedly as she went over to him and kneeled in front of him with Josh kneeling next to her, but Timothy continued to cough.

"It was Klaus," Timothy wheezed out, his throat not letting him form the words without some struggle. "He made me do it." He looked at Davina with sorrow and regret in his eyes. "I didn't even know what I was doing until I made you…" he stopped himself, unable to say what he had done.

"Made her what?" asked Rebekah, dreading to know what Klaus had done.

"Drink," Timothy answered before his breath caught in his throat and started to wheeze, unable to deal with the pain he was feeling and fell back on his back, wheezing.

"Klaus poisoned the water," said Rebekah.

"Tim?" Davina hovered over Timothy's body before she felt dizzy.

"Davina?" Josh asked in concern. "Oh, no."

Davina began to have a coughing fit just like Timothy and fell on the ground next to him as her breathing became labored. Rebekah and Josh looked at one another with wide eyes, not knowing what to do.

* * *

Kol groaned, his eyebrows furrowing as he gasped to suck air into his lungs after his neck was snapped. He coughed and waited for the remnants of the pain in his neck and chest to subside, but was comforted by a delicate hand running its fingers through his hair, to which he hummed at the familiar scent. He slowly opened his eyes to immediately lock them on Gwen's smiling ones. He grinned and covered the hand she had on his chest with one of his.

"I reckon I should've been woken up with a kiss," he quipped.

Gwen chuckled. "Count yourself lucky enough, my Sleeping Beauty."

Kol groaned when he remembered what had led to him passed out in Gwen's lap. He looked around with a pursed look upon him as he watched his brothers waking up after their bodies healed from their encounter with Davina. Elijah still had blood crusted all over his face and the front of his clothes, while Marcel's shirt was soaked in blood as well. Klaus and Kol were the only ones who managed to remain clean, but that didn't mean their bodies were better off than the rest.

Elijah sighed as he stood over Marcel, who was waking up. "Well, isn't this monumentally awkward." And he offered Marcel a hand that the latter took before being hoisted up to his feet.

"Time to get up," Gwen said and helped Kol to his feet. Kol was thrusted to the side and landed hard on the ground, which alarmed Elijah and Marcel, but Gwen remained unfazed when she stood inches away from a furious Klaus. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Where is she, Gwen?" Klaus asked, whereas Kol struggled to get to his feet, having little time to fully heal before he was shoved to the side by his angry older brother. "And I will not as again."

"I didn't want her to get hurt," said Gwen, her eyes locked with Klaus'.

Klaus scoffed. "And yet, we found ourselves at the mercy of the witch."

"I wouldn't have let her hurt you," Gwen argued as Kol appeared at her side, glaring at Klaus. "Not really."

Klaus glanced at Kol, noticing the lack of surprise on his younger brother's face at Gwen's confession, which only led him to believe that Kol must've known something he decided not to share. He turned back to Gwen. "Where is she?"

"Miss Gwen," Elijah said, trying to not frustrate Klaus any further. He and Marcel approached them. "I believe it is best that we know of Davina's whereabouts, considering Rebekah's desire to go against us. Do not believe that my sister's intention is to get the girl away from the city."

Gwen sighed, hoping Rebekah was far enough. "She left with Rebekah, Josh and Tim, but I don't know where." Klaus continued to glare at her, angry that Gwen had gone behind his back, but knowing he couldn't punish her, not for wanting to save someone she confused with her younger sister, but he could be angry with her. Gwen huffed when she noticed his lack of confidence in her. "I'm not lying, Nik." She though back for a moment and remembered something Rebekah said. "Rebekah said something about showing making a quick stop somewhere."

Klaus nodded before he pulled out his phone to call Rebekah, turning away from his siblings, Gwen and Marcel. At the call being picked up, he asked, "Rebekah, where are you?"

" _I'm with Davina, and she's dying because of your treachery,_ " answered Rebekah, her words reaching everyone else's heightened hearing.

"Well, I tried to talk to her out of respect for Marcel," Klaus said and glanced at his former ward. "But she made it quite clear she is not our friend. And my apologies if you thought she was yours."

" _Just tell me how to cure her,_ " Rebekah persisted, knowing she was running out of time. " _Vampire blood isn't working._ "

"No, it wouldn't," said Klaus. Elijah, Marcel, Kol and Gwen looked at Klaus with scowls on their faces. Marcel took a few threatening steps towards Klaus, but was stopped by Elijah's hand on his shoulder. "You see, the poison I compelled Timothy to feed her is quite potent. It's just a matter of time for her."

" _For_ both _of them, you diabolical bastard,_ " Rebekah hissed. Gwen looked at Klaus with horror in her eyes, not believing he was capable of hurting _children_. "They're children. We could've dealt with her fairly."

"There is no dealing with those who threaten us," Klaus said to his sister as he approached his brothers, Marcel and Gwen. "Davina sealed her fate when she stood against me. This was her choice, not mine." He hung up the call, leaving Rebekah to watch as Davina died next to Timothy. Klaus looked at the angry face of Marcel and the disappointed looks of his brothers and Gwen, to which he rolled his eyes at. "Oh, come on. The stench of your judgement is overwhelming." He paced forward to stand a few feet away from them, and turned around to face them, only to be met with a slap on his face. He sighed through his nose as he locked eyes with a furious Gwen. He nodded at her. "I admit, I might've deserved that."

"Damn right," Gwen almost growled at him, if not for her already husky voice that had become permanent, since it was caused by baby colic.

"Need I remind you that Davina just bested the lot of us?" Klaus said as he glanced from his brothers to Marcel. "I did what had to be done." He walked around Gwen and strode towards Elijah. "Don't worry, Elijah. I remain as redeemable as ever."

"So you compelled that boy to poison Davina without consulting Marcel or myself," argued Elijah, but Klaus merely shrugged his shoulders.

"You know what the worst part is?" Marcel intervened. "Is that you're so predictable, I had to make an alliance with Elijah, who I don't even like." He glanced at Kol. "I was even tempted to offer Kol a deal, but he's the least I like."

Gwen, without really wanting to, released a laugh that came out as squeak from her trying to conceal it. She knew it wasn't the time to be laughing, but this had been involuntary. Klaus, Elijah and Kol stared at Marcel with raised eyebrows, Elijah stepping away from Marcel and Kol looking at Gwen unimpressed.

"Judging by your expression, you have something you'd like to share," Klaus said, unamused by Marcel keeping secret agendas from him.

"Damn straight, I do," Marcel challenged, not backing away from Klaus' imposing figure. "I got a call from Kieran earlier, right after Sabine and some witches almost got their hands on Davina first." Marcel cleared his throat as he began to explain to Klaus the deal he made with Sabine after she had made a spell to protect herself from Davina's attack. "So, I told her to make the same protection spell she did on herself to also do it on Davina."

Klaus glared at Marcel as he paced around him. "So when you slipped away to allegedly check on your Nightwalkers, you were, in fact, colluding with a witch." He turned to Marcel with a mirthless grin. "That's very clever. I suppose I should be proud."

"Eh, I just wanted to make sure I had a failsafe just in case, as Elijah expected, you started acting like you," Marcel said in defense of his actions.

"Not surprising," Kol said as he stood next to Gwen with an arm around her waist. "Why is it that you cannot admit when someone bested you, instead of pointing out faults that you have also caused?"

"Except that now he has involved the witches," Klaus said as he pointed at Marcel, "who, last time I checked, were enemy to us all, to everything we have, and to _our_ family."

"Davina is Marcel's family, Niklaus, just like Miss Gwen is our family," Elijah said harshly, piercing eyes focused on Klaus. He advanced on Klaus, unwavering. "Or did that somehow slip your mind as you tried to take her life?"

"No, Elijah," mumbled Klaus.

"You will call Rebekah," Elijah ordered, leaving no room for argument as he stared deep into Klaus' eyes. Klaus opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it at the intensity in his older brother's eyes. "You'll tell her that Davina will recover. Do wish the same could be said for that boy."

Elijah walked away to get cleaned up. Marcel stared at Klaus a moment longer before he too left to wait for news on Davina. Kol and Gwen looked at one another before they too decided to leave for their room, leaving Klaus on the courtyard on his own with pools of blood that belonged to Elijah and Marcel as the reminders of the events of the night.

* * *

Gwen sat on the chair in front of her vanity as she removed her earrings, bracelets and rings that she wore as accessories. She sighed when she looked at Kol's body lying on his corner of their bed through the mirror of her vanity. He had shed his jacket off and laid there staring at the ceiling with an arm on his forehead and the other on his stomach, while his left leg dangled over the side of the bed. He had been quiet ever since they closed themselves off into their room, but she had an idea that he was upset about her running off without talking to him about it, which was worrying, considering he tended to be overprotective with her.

"Silence isn't a trait of yours that I'm used to," Gwen said as she turned on her seat to look over to Kol. His only reaction was his eyes narrowing, which concerned Gwen. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize for not telling you what I had planned." She stood up—still in her dress and barefoot—and made her way over to him. "Kol?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at him with her hands clasped on her lap.

Kol sighed, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts, but he finally decided how to handle their situation. "I get a pass when I keep something from you."

Gwen frowned at him. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yes," he said and sat up, turning to look at her with a grin on his lips. His demand had totally caught her by surprise, not having expected this response from him. "I find it fair, considering you left me high and dry to deal with my siblings and their scheming, let alone leaving me worried about how Nik might have reacted." He sighed heavily and raked a hand through his brown hair. "I hope that this will keep you from keeping secrets from me." He locked eyes with Gwen, and she understood his reasoning. "What better way to scheme than to do it with me, the God of Mischief?" Gwen chuckled and nodded, feeling anxious at having kept something from Kol. He reached for her chin with his hand and tilted her head up to keep her eyes on him. "Besides, this also covers the fact that you kept yourself in that dress from me."

Gwen grinned. "I'm sorry."

"All is forgiven," he whispered before pulling her to him and connecting his lips to her own in a sweet kiss. They were interrupted once more, but this time it was by Elijah knocking on the door and making sure they knew it was him. That did not mean that Kol took it lightly. "What do I have to do to get some privacy with my girl?"

Gwen shook her head at him and answered the door. "Hello, Elijah."

"I apologize for inconveniencing you, Miss Gwen," he greeted, pointedly ignoring Kol's grumbling. "I need your assistance in checking Davina's wellbeing."

"She came back?" Gwen asked as Kol stood from the bed to stand behind her.

"Yes, Rebekah brought her back," said Elijah.

"And Rebekah?" asked Kol.

"She remains at odds with our decisions," Elijah answered, hoping that his sister would soon see reason and return home.

Gwen nodded. "First, let's see to Davina, so lead the way."

Gwen and Kol followed Elijah to Davina's room. Marcel was there, having placed Davina on her bed and stood watch over her. He was sad and upset with himself that he had disappointed her and betrayed her trust. She was his child in every way, except for blood. The young witch was precious to Marcel, because they were so much alike and they had gone through so much in their lives.

"Marcel," Gwen greeted him as she approached Davina's unconscious form. Marcel nodded at her and gave her enough space to allow her to sit at the edge of the bed to look over Davina. She placed a hand on Davina's temple and decided to make sure the poison was gone from her system. "She'll be fine."

Marcel looked up to Elijah, who stood by the doorway with Kol leaning against the doorframe. "She'll never trust me again."

"Perhaps," said Elijah. "You must never surrender the fight to reclaim that trust."

Kol glanced to the side and frowned at the canvases with images drawn with charcoal only. "These drawings, what are they?" Elijah also took notice of the drawings and approached them.

"She drew those the whole time she was in the attic," Marcel explained as he left Gwen to continue to heal Davina. "She said they're different than what she draws when she senses magic." Kol's eyes narrowed when he noticed a pattern to a drawing and approached them. "These ones, she called them evil."

"See the pattern, brother?" Kol said as he motioned to a specific drawing. "This isn't a girl drawing from her own mind."

Elijah also noticed the pattern. "This is something else." He turned to Marcel, deciding to ask for Marcel's blessing, if only to not cause any more tension than there already was. "I need these for a few moments."

"Go ahead," Marcel said as he nodded.

Kol helped Elijah with the drawings, gathering them in their arms to take out of the room and into a more spacious area. Marcel watched them leave with Davina's drawings and turned to Gwen as she healed Davina. Marcel was hesitant to leave, but he knew he needed to give Davina some space before they could talk.

Gwen finished making Davina as comfortable as she could and sighed. "I hope you know that this is not a life you want to be part of." She stood up from the bed and hoped Davina understood her words, even though she thought she was sleeping. "It will only fill you with pain and suffering, and take this from someone who learned this firsthand."

Gwen turned and left the room, closing the door behind her without noticing Davina opening her eyes filled with too many thoughts. Gwen left Davina's room and went towards the Compound's bar room, which was where she heard Kol's and Elijah's voices. She entered and noticed Hayley was also there. Both women watched as Kol helped Elijah pore over Davina's sketches, having found a rhythm as to how to accommodate the drawings on top of the coffee table of the room.

"You guys okay?" Hayley watched with a raised eyebrow.

Elijah raised his head and smiled at Hayley. "I'm better now." Kol made a gagging noise as he held up a sketch, to which Elijah rolled his eyes at, but focused on Hayley and the warmth she brought to him. "How was your day?"

"I bet it was killer," said Gwen.

Hayley sighed as she nodded. "Tell me about it." She frowned at what Elijah and Kol were doing with the drawings. "What's with the artwork?"

"Davina's sketches," Elijah answered as he continued to mull over the drawings, trying to find a pattern that he and Kol knew that it had. "I wonder if they represent some kind of premonition."

Gwen approached the drawings, feeling herself being pulled to them. Her eyes scanned the dark lines that detailed something that Elijah and Kol were close to deciphering. Her head began to pound, but she shook her head as something tried to push itself to the front of her mind without her consent.

"They were made from a connection to magic," Kol concluded as he arranged the images with Elijah.

"So they can suggest that something is coming, something sinister," Elijah added. He and Kol continued to work on rearranging the sketches.

"Stop," Gwen whispered as she wrapped the fingers of a hand around her throat, but her plea was unheard.

"We're almost done," Kol said and watched as Elijah placed the final sketch in its place.

Elijah gasped at the familiar face of someone he once held dear to his heart. The image was also familiar to Hayley, having seen the face of the woman sketched on the papers in Elijah's mind when he was suffering through Klaus' bite in the bayou. Gwen approached he image, her hands hovering over them.

"Oh, my god," Hayley gasped. "Isn't that…"

"Celeste," Elijah finished for Hayley, considering she had not finished her train of thought.

"Who is she?" Kol asked.

Gwen placed her hands on top of the pieces of paper and closed her eyes, her head tilting to the side as images danced through her mind. She took a sharp intake of air when she was suddenly met with the images of Rebekah being staked with White Oak, Elijah yelling from pain at having been stabbed, Klaus being held down by straps on an operating table and Kol screaming with blood on his mouth. Gwen yelled and disconnected herself from the sketches and the images that plagued her mind before she was falling to the ground. Kol was by her side in a second and held her unconscious body against his side. He placed a hand on the side of her face to position her head against his shoulder and looked up at Elijah.

"Sinister, indeed," Elijah whispered as he stared at his brother and Gwen before he turned back to the face sketched on papers, not having noticed Hayley leaving the room to call a witch that had succeeded in her venture.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. A little bit of a cliffhanger there with Gwen seeing visions about the Mikaelsons and the future that is to come. I would really like for you guys to review your opinions and thoughts about the chapter. Also, I'd like to know your thoughts about the Crescent Wolf Pack that I'll be soon introducing, still debating how to handle them in the future. But I can promise you guys that a character will soon take a liking to Gwen, but I REPEAT THAT THERE WILL NOT BE A LOVE TRIANGLE, just something to spice things up a bit. Just tell me your thoughts.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hello, hello! Sorry for the hod up guys, just had to make some final adjustments to what I'll be doing in future chapters and for Season Two, which I am excited for! And don't even get me started on what I have in store for Season Three. I can only say that as the seasons come, things will begin to settle and unsettle between Gwen and Kol. I thank you guys for being so patient with me, considering I have taken much longer to update; blame it on my need to make the story as perfect as I can make it.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

* * *

 _Gwen frowned as she walked along the pathways of the Lafayette Cemetery. There was mist surrounding the ground, making it impossible for her to see her feet. The sky was a complete gray with no intentions of showing any light from the sun. She was clad in the antique wedding dress that Klaus had loaned her. She was barefoot and walked along the cobble-stoned path and heard voices whispering from all around her. Her eyes scanned the area around her and noticed many figures dressed in clothes from different time periods._

" _Hello?" Gwen called, but none of the figures approached her, they either stared or remained in their own worlds. "Can anybody help me?"_

 _She began to panic as a familiar feeling coursed through her. She was a ghost, or she felt like she was a ghost. A lump grew in her throat when her mind processed the possibility of her being what she no longer wanted to be. Her mind had her thinking she would no longer see Kol or feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. She was brought back to that dark place when she had woken up after her death._

" _Gwen Pierson." Gwen turned around and gasped when she was met with the familiar figure of a young blonde woman with blue eyes and dressed in the fashion of 1910. It was Mary-Alice Claire, Kol's former lover. "It's a pleasure to meet my darling Kol's latest victim, myself being the previous one."_

" _Where am I?" asked Gwen._

" _By seeing a vision about a dead, unconsecrated witch, you managed to tap into the Ancestral Plane on the Other Side," Mary-Alice explained, tilting her head to the side as her eyes took in Gwen's appearance. "He seems to have a thing for blondes."_

 _Gwen scowled at her, not knowing what to do. "What do you want?"_

" _What makes you think I want anything?" Mary-Alice asked as she began to circle Gwen, her lips pulled up into a smirk as she surveyed Gwen. "I was such a young witch with a future to live, but that was wrenched away from me and my friend when that insolent boyfriend of yours practically handed me over to Klaus and his wrath."_

" _You_ chose _to follow Kol," Gwen said, defiant at her words. "You wanted what he wanted; it's not his fault that Niklaus tends to be so paranoid he has contingency plans for every possible scenario in existence or fiction." Gwen huffed. "I thought you cared about him."_

" _And I thought_ he _cared about_ me _," Mary-Alice argued, spitting venom in her voice, and for a moment her voice broke. "But he was only using me to get back at his brother, so I decided to do the same."_

 _Gwen then realized something. "You locked him out of his hideout and waited for him to come back for you when he'd realize that he needed you to break the seal." Mary-Alice merely continued to pace around Gwen, her face squared. "But he was daggered."_

" _Nevertheless," Mary-Alice continued and stopped when she was a few feet away from Gwen, still smirking. "I intend to have my revenge against him and that accursed family of his." She smirked at Gwen. "I just need to be patient." She reached up and touched Gwen's hair. "Soon, it'll be like looking at a mirror for you."_

 _Gwen frowned, not knowing what she meant, but not wanting to stick around to find out. "I'll find my way out." And went to turn around, but was thrown on her back when Mary-Alice appeared in front of her, which had her losing her breath._

" _It's rude to leave in such a rush," Mary-Alice remarked as Gwen groaned, sitting up on her elbows. "One might think you have something against me. I think we need to get better acquainted." She raised her hand and smirked, but she dry heaved, her hand dropping to her side. She felt like she was bound. "No, not now," she growled. She screeched and turned into glowing, blue mist before it disappeared._

 _Gwen looked past where Mary-Alice was and gasped when her eyes landed on the figure of her younger sister. "Willow?"_

 _Willow smiled and raised her hand at Gwen. "You have to go back; she'll be back any minute."_

 _Gwen shook her head and stood up to run over to Willow. "No, wait!" But she was interrupted and halted when Willow's hand glowed brightly, causing Gwen to cover her eyes before she was engulfed in darkness._

* * *

Light streamed through the windows into the room that belonged to Kol and Gwen. It was early in the morning, the sun having risen mere hours ago. Kol dropped the curtains to darken the room and allow Gwen a few more moments of sleep. He walked over to the bed and sighed as he sat down on his side of the bed. He stared at her sleeping figure, clad in one of his shirts after having changed her the night before from the antique wedding dress that he returned to Klaus. He turned to his side, leaning on an elbow and smiled at her parted mouth before he began to stroke her blonde hair from her face. The night before had been tiring, and Gwen had seen something that caused her to faint, which worried Kol. If word got out that Gwen was a much more powerful witch than she let on, she'd be in the middle of power struggles, not that she ever said she wasn't ready for them. But too much conflict only prompted Kol to want to leave the city to protect her, if only for a while.

Gwen whimpered, which caught Kol's attention. He frowned when she began to turn restlessly, mumbling something he couldn't really hear what she was mumbling under her breath. He reached for her cheek and tapped it lightly. "Darling?" She didn't respond and began to breathe heavily. He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Gwen!"

"Willow!" she gasped as she bolted upright, grabbing Kol's wrists as he held on to her shoulders. Her eyes were unfocused as she looked around the room, sighing when she realized she was no longer at the cemetery on the Other Side.

"Gwen," Kol whispered, drawing her attention to him. He hushed her when she sobbed as a tear slid down her left eye. "What happened?"

"I was there," she sobbed as her skin crawled. "I was a ghost and it felt so real and there were so many faces."

Kol frowned at her, not understanding what she meant. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what happened." She gulped and tried to steady her breathing. "I was just there on the Other Side and it felt so much like when I was dead."

"You're here," he soothed her. "You are not going back to that place." He placed his lips against her forehead and kept them there when he brought her against his shoulder. "I'll never let you go."

Kol rocked Gwen in his arms and soothed her by whispering calming words into her ear. He was patient and waited for her sobs to calm down, not wanting to put any more stress on her shoulders. "She saved me," Gwen mumbled, but Kol managed to catch her words and his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Who saved you?" he asked.

"My sister," she murmured and pushed herself off his shoulder to meet his gaze. "Willow saved me from that crazy witch."

Kol raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. "You're going to have to be more specific, my darling, considering almost all of the witches are crazy." She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Well, excluding you, of course." He sighed and kissed her forehead once more, cupping her face in both of his hands. "Who did she protect you from?"

"Mary-Alice Claire," said Gwen.

* * *

"The Italians called them _strega_ ," Elijah said as he reminded Hayley and Klaus the history of witches in different cultures around the world after having read old books about them that might explain their situation with the sketches of Celeste on the coffee table. "The Yoruba of West Africa call them _aje_ , meaning mother. Where our mother was from, they called them _häxa_ , and here we call them _witch_." Hayley sat in silence in an armchair, listening to Elijah talk, as she watched both brothers pace around the room. "Over the centuries, vampires have fought them and fought beside them, bedded them and burned them. Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic anchors this city." He sighed and sat down on the sofa in front of the coffee table, his eyes still on Celeste's face. "If we had merely looked through any old book, we can trace the witches back two thousand years ago, and Lilwen's name is on every page."

"You mean Gwen's ancestor and original doppelgänger?" Hayley asked, frowning, still keeping up with Gwen's family ancestry.

"She was revered as a deity by many and even centuries after," Elijah explained. "Now, we have two all-powerful witches under the roof of our home."

"Well, Davina is now tucked in safe and sound down the hall under my protection and Gwen is family," Klaus said, and then his eyes trailed over Celeste's face. "Your Celeste was quite beautiful and a portent of evil, according to our volatile artist in residence." He huffed out a laugh. "Let's not mention Gwen's reaction to the mere sight of your former lover."

"Yes," Elijah sighed. "Perhaps Davina's mistaken what she calls evil for power. Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day, but she's been dead for over two hundred years. I don't understand." He placed his hands on the sketches, frustrated about their meaning. "Why all these sketches now?"

Klaus grinned and sat on another armchair. "Why does any witch do anything?"

Kol stalked into the room, having left Gwen to rest. Both Elijah and Klaus were alarmed by his sudden entrance and grew concern with the look of panic on his facial features. They knew their brother well, which was why they guessed that anything that bothered Kol to make him as upset as he was had to be concerning something precious to him, which were not many things.

"How is our most beloved witch?" Klaus asked, making it sound casual, but he was truly concerned for Gwen and her health.

"We have a problem," Kol announced, which unnerved Elijah, Klaus and Hayley. "Those sketches need to be destroyed." Kol went to grab the drawings, but was stopped in his pursuit by Elijah stepping in his way. Kol stared at Elijah challengingly. "Move, Elijah."

"Why do we need to get rid of them?" asked Hayley, truly curious.

Klaus stood up and joined his brothers, grabbing a shoulder of them and having them step away from one another. "Easy, Kol." Klaus dropped his hands to his side and looked to Kol. "I know I'd be a hypocrite for saying this, but use your words, brother."

"Those sketches are some form of conduit between the Other Side and here," Kol explained after calming down. "I don't know how, but they somehow sent Gwen to the Ancestral Plane of New Orleans." He took in a deep breath and sighed. "She had an encounter with a previous tryst of mine, and she did not mean well."

Klaus smirked. "There have been a few, so you'll have to be more specific."

Kol rolled his eyes at him, but relented. "Davina's ancestor."

* * *

"Davina?" Gwen knocked on the young witch's door and waited to be allowed entry. Davina had little things she could call her own, but Gwen wanted to at least give her a choice in what she wanted. "It's Gwen, and I'm alone."

"Come in," Davina's voice was muffled behind the door, but Gwen heard her.

Gwen entered Davina's room with a small smile and presented an apple to her. "I bring nutrients." Davina smiled from her spot on her bed, but she did not seem to be all right, which Gwen noticed. "Are you all right, apart from everything that happened yesterday?" she asked and tossed Davina the apple, the latter catching it.

"Well, I am a prisoner in a place that everyone tells me is my home," Davina said, and Gwen sat on the edge of the brunette's hair. "I lost my best friend at the hands of people I thought I could trust." Her eyes saddened. "People I thought were my family."

"Davina, you find yourself in the middle of something that you weren't meant to be a part of," Gwen sighed, watching as Davina took a bite of her apple. "This isn't Twilight; this isn't lovesick vampires or anything like that, Davina." Gwen was being serious with the young girl, knowing that the latter had no idea what she was meddling into. "The real world is filled with a variety of shades of gray, not just black and white."

"I know that," defied Davina.

"No, you don't," Gwen said with a firm voice, but kept it calm to not give away any frustration or anger. "You have to realize, this is a family feud from a thousand years ago. It's bigger than you or me." She sighed when she thought of her dear friend. "As for Rebekah, she means well." Gwen smiled at Davina. "But sometimes she can't tell the difference between right and wrong when she's too wrapped up in wanting to prove a point."

Davina nodded as she rolled the half-eaten apple in her hands. "Where do you stand?"

"I stand with Kol and Hayley and her baby, which has me standing with Nik and Elijah," Gwen said in all her honesty. "I refuse to lie to you and tell you I'm on your side only, because I'm not and I'll only betray your trust."

Davina sighed, but she understood where Gwen was coming from. Gwen had her family and she was loyal to them, so Davina felt it was wrong to be upset about that, considering she would do the same, if only she had anyone left. For now, she'd have to settle on Gwen being there for her as much as she could. Suddenly, Davina groaned when her chest tightened and her mind thumped.

Gwen's brows knitted in concern. "Davina?"

"I don't feel so good," said Davina. "I feel it, the magic, wanting to break through."

"Here, let me help," Gwen said and took Davina's hand, the one that was not holding the apple before she focused on a spell that she had practiced. "Maybe I can take some of that magic off your hands, if only a little." Davina nodded and Gwen focused on drawing some of Davina's magic to alleviate the young girl from the heavy burden. She knew she couldn't take too much of Davina's magic, especially with the amount she already had coursing through her veins. Gwen opened her eyes and watched the hand of Davina in her hold glow gold, which then transferred to Gwen's own hand. She released Davina and the glowing died down. "Any better?" she asked Davina, confused as to why she didn't feel any different, but Davina's nodding said otherwise.

"I feel a bit better." Davina smiled. "Thanks."

"Good," Gwen said and stood up. "I'm hungry, so I'm on my way to get breakfast. Do you want anything?"

Davina shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're sure?" asked Gwen, narrowing her eyes playfully.

Davina chuckled for the first time, the feeling foreign to her, and nodded. "Yes."

"Okay," Gwen said and left the room, closing the door behind her. She turned to walk down the hallway and almost bumped into Marcel, who had a tray filled with breakfast foods on it. "Good morning."

"Morning," Marcel said and gestured to Davina's room with a nod of his head. "How is she?"

Gwen sighed heavily. "She's a tiny bit better, but I'd refrain from mentioning anything that happened in the last couple of days."

"Noted," Marcel said and sighed. "Thank you." Gwen raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "You know, for looking out for her." Gwen nodded before he walked around her to go into Davina's room. Gwen only took a few steps towards her destination before she heard a loud thump and Davina's yelling. Deciding to stay out of it, she continued on her way.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that the wench you conspired with is going after Gwen?" Klaus asked Kol as he paced around the room, trying to take in the amount of problems that were piling up. "I can only imagine what she would want to do to your current girlfriend."

"Which is why I want to be rid of these drawings," Kol argued, frustrated that his brothers were more concerned in getting answers than acting. "Apart from keeping her safe at all costs, Gwen is also like a nuclear power plant with immeasurable power that has been passed down from Lilwen through the generations."

"You believe the Ancestors of New Orleans want this power?" asked Elijah.

Kol shrugged. "I don't know, but it would be a great substitute for the power that the Harvest was supposed to grant them."

Klaus was about to open his mouth to make a remark, but closed his mouth when he felt Gwen's presence coming from the hallway. He turned to the door and calmed when he saw Gwen appear at the doorway with a smile on her lips, which disappeared when she saw how tense everyone in the room was.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Gwen asked when she entered the bar room, only to have Klaus, Elijah, Kol and Hayley staring at her. She only went in there to offer breakfast, but now she wished she had assumed they already had breakfast by the looks of things. "Not that I'm not flattered, but the staring is getting creepy."

"Kol was just telling us a rather interesting story about you being on the Other Side," Klaus remarked as he made his way over to the drinks placed in the room. "Care to corroborate?"

Gwen turned her annoyed gaze at Kol. "I told you, I am fine."

"The last thing we need is a conduit for the witch spirits of New Orleans to reach out to us," Kol explained, trying to make Gwen understand as he turned to face her. "Let alone allow them to take you." He turned back to the drawings on the coffee table. "I suggest we burn the bloody sketches and be done with it."

"Elijah, are you okay with this?" Gwen asked him, to which Kol scoffed.

"We don't need his blessing," argued Kol.

"It's his ex," Gwen fired back.

"Am I supposed to care?" Kol grounded through clenched teeth.

Klaus, Elijah and Hayley looked on in amusement. This was the first time they found themselves witnessing an argument between Kol and Gwen, considering they acted like horny bunnies out in public. Hayley simply looked on from her spot on an armchair with a grin on her lips, now finding out that Kol and Gwen were just like any couple. Klaus and Elijah were the ones having a better time. For centuries they knew their little brother's body language; they knew when he'd kill someone, when he'd scheme, when he did something he was not supposed to do and many other signs. So they knew that Kol was actually restraining himself from growing any angrier at Gwen, and they also noticed their little brother was actually being cautious of Gwen. This was something they'd remember for the rest of their lives, especially when they saw Kol's towering form bending at the willpower from Gwen's petite form.

"As amusing it is to see you cowering under Cat, little brother," Klaus said as he interrupted the bickering between Kol and Gwen, "I would like to change the topic at hand to discuss it at another time."

"Thank you, Mouse," said Gwen, while Kol grumbled an insult at his brother under his breath, which went unnoticed.

"I would like to know how our young witch is doing." Klaus served two glasses, handing one to Elijah before sitting back on his armchair, while Kol and Gwen stood on their feet. Klaus' question was answered when they heard a crash and yelling from upstairs. "Well, that's going well."

"You don't say," Gwen remarked sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest, hugging her drapey, long-sleeved, charcoal-colored cardigan tighter over her green sundress, considering its front was framed with pleats.

"If you were trying to win the girl's trust, perhaps poisoning her one true love was not the most splendid idea," commented Elijah.

"Oh, are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?" Klaus said, not at all content with the constant jabs he received from Elijah about Timothy's death.

"Give me a month," said Elijah. "I'll get you a list."

"I'd wager you'd need half a year, if you want to count the other ones we aren't aware of," Kol said as he went to make himself a drink.

Klaus chuckled mirthlessly at his brothers' teasing, only for it to be silenced by yet another crash that came from Davina's room. He was getting frustrated by Davina's attitude. "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the ass." He set down his drink on an unoccupied corner of the coffee table before he stood up and headed towards Davina's room to put a stop to her rants.

Gwen rolled her eyes at Klaus' impatience and was about to make a snarky remark about it, but stopped when she suddenly felt something extremely dry crawling up her throat, feeling it scrape it from the inside. Kol and Elijah noticed her expression, becoming concerned. Gwen whimpered before she began to cough, the coughing becoming louder and raspier. Kol dropped his glass, letting it crash on the floor, and made his way over to Gwen. Like Elijah and Hayley, he gasped when he saw Gwen vomit dirt. Elijah stood up as he watched Gwen drop on her knees with Kol keeping her hair out of her face. Hayley, worried for Gwen, stood up and walked over to her. The werewolf kneeled next to Gwen's other side and rubbed her back. When Gwen stopped coughing, she heaved and sucked in air as she buried herself into Kol's arms. Suddenly, every item in the house rattled as the house shook violently, as though it was an earthquake. Concerned, Elijah walked out into the balcony overlooking the courtyard, joined by Klaus and Marcel as they watched everything shake.

Rebekah arrived and looked around as everything shook and vampire scoured to stay safe. "What the hell is going on?" she asked as she stared up at her brothers.

"Davina," answered Klaus.

* * *

Gwen rested on the sofa of the bar room after having passed out, Kol deeming it comfortable enough for her. He sat on the edge of the coffee table, his elbows on his knees and his hands cupped in front of his face. Kol was worried and everyone knew it was never good when he got nervous. Gwen seemed to be in some sort of pain, so he refused to jostle her too much that it caused her any pain. She took deep breaths, but still seemed to be struggling, as a thin sheet of sweat appeared on her forehead. Marcel had come into the room after making sure Davina was calm and safe. Hayley had left the room to retrieve cool water to help Gwen while his siblings argued about the situation with Marcel.

Elijah approached Gwen and placed a hand on her forehead, almost flinching at how hot her skin was. "What's happening to her?"

"She must be connected to Davina and her magic somehow," Kol explained as his brain overthought any possible cause that led Gwen to her current state. "It would explain why they both puked out dirt, especially at the same time."

"This is madness," Klaus said as his eyes stayed on Gwen. "How can a sixteen-year-old girl shake the entire French Quarter?" He looked to Kol. "I still cannot understand how can it be affecting Gwen?"

"I've seen her rock the church, but I've never seen anything like this," Marcel said as he paced around the room with his arms crossed over his chest. "And she's never dragged anyone into it."

Klaus sighed as he turned his attention from Gwen to Marcel. "How did you control her when she was in the attic?"

"I didn't have to," Marcel retorted as he scowled at Klaus. "But then, I never killed her boyfriend."

"Yes, yes," Klaus groaned as he rolled his eyes at still being accused for Timothy's death. "We've been over this part already." His mind was already thinking about the threat that the witches would pose, if they did not have Davina working against them. "The point is, in her present state she's useless as a tool against the witches. And I don't need to remind any of you the fact that whatever she's doing is taking Gwen with her."

"She is not a tool," argued Marcel, trying to keep calm in regard to Klaus' comments about Davina being nothing more than a weapon. "Something's wrong with her and it's not entirely her fault that Gwen is unwell."

"It's entirely her fault!" Kol raged as he stood up and turned to Marcel with his vampiric face manifesting, both Klaus and Elijah standing straight to hold back Kol, but the latter's assault was stopped by the delicate hold of a hand around his wrist. His chest heaved as he took deep breaths to calm down. His face shifted back to normal and looked down to see Gwen smiling up at him as she continued to struggle to breathe. Kol knelt down next to Gwen's head and smiled at her as he touched her hair. "What happened, my darling?"

"Davina," Gwen managed to say through her raspy throat. She coughed to clear her throat, if only a bit, since she could still feel it was raw from having coughed out dirt. "She said she had a headache, and I just wanted to alleviate it by taking some of her magic." She took a deep breath and groaned at how hot and weak she felt. "We were fine."

"You somehow connected yourself to her," concluded Kol. "We need to severe this link." He glanced up to stare at his older brothers. "Whatever's happening to Davina seems to be happening to Gwen."

"Davina has too much power that she cannot control," said Elijah. "That much we already knew, but why is it manifesting itself in such an aggressive manner, let alone affect Miss Gwen in such a manner?" An idea struck his mind, so he stood up and went to leave the room.

Klaus and Kol gave Elijah a look of confusion, and Klaus asked, "Where are you going?"

"This is witch business," Elijah answered as he made his way out of the room. "Let's ask a witch." Elijah was stopped outside the room by Hayley standing in his way with a bowl full of cool water and a small towel.

"You're going to see Sophie," Hayley deducted from having overheard the conversation, not wanting to interrupt them when they were conferring heatedly about what was happening.

"You don't have to eavesdrop," Elijah assured her, noticing how nervous she looked. "I keep nothing from you." He began to walk and Hayley followed.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to keep anything from you either, and if you're going out to see Sophie, then there's something that you should know," she said as she followed Elijah down the stairs. Elijah stopped halfway to look up at Hayley, who was anxious before she continued down the steps ahead of him and he followed. "She called me and asked me for a favor." She was rambling now, nervous about confessing to Elijah something she thought he'd deem wrong. "She promised me that she would help break the curse that Marcel put on my people in exchange for some information." Elijah frowned at Hayley's rambling, finding it endearing, but confused as to what she was leading up to. "And I didn't think anything of it, but then Davina started doing those pictures of Celeste—"

"Whatever it is," Elijah interrupted her, wanting to calm her as they stopped walking and faced one another, "you have to tell me."

Hayley approached Elijah as she fidgeted with her hands. "Sophie wanted to find Celeste's remains." Elijah's face looked shocked as he listened to Hayley's explanation. "So I went through your journals, and I found out where you buried her, and then I told her." Elijah's mouth was agape and glanced away, not able to stare at Hayley after she confessed to something he never expected her to do behind his back. "I know it was stupid and it was snoopy, and I-I should have just asked you." Elijah returned his blank eyes to her, speechless. This made Hayley feel horrible and caused her stomach to turn at the look he was giving her. "Please say something." She was nervous and kept her hands fidgeting with one another to keep them from trembling. "Please."

Elijah, clearly upset, huffed as he placed his hands on his hips. "She wanted to be left in peace. When a witch's remains are consecrated, that power fuels the rest of their community. Celeste did not want her remains to be found. She made me promise to bury her where she would not be found." His tone remained calm, but it had an underlined harshness to it. "You not only violated my privacy, you have broken my promise to her."

"I thought they were just bones, Elijah," whispered Hayley.

"If you truly believed that, why didn't you ask me where to find her?" He looked away before he walked around her to take his leave with Hayley looking despondent as he walked away.

* * *

Sabine was in one of the tombs in the Lafayette Cemetery, working on a personal spell over a small cauldron. Now that Davina was out of commission and Marcel uninterested in witches, Sabine went along with some spells, having placed another protection spell on her. She was not going to trust an average day in New Orleans to calm her caution. Just then, Sophie entered the tomb while carrying a heavy knapsack filled with the item she had managed out of Hayley. She wrinkled her nose when she caught a whiff of the spell Sabine was performing.

"If that's dinner, I pass," said Sophie.

Sabine sighed. "Sophie, where have you been?"

"Short answer—grave robbing," Sophie said as she adjusted the strap of the knapsack over her shoulder. "Stop whatever you're doing." Sabine frowned at this, noticing the determination in Sophie's eyes. "We need to find Davina. I figured out a way to complete the Harvest."

"What?" Sabine frowned as she watched Sophie drop her knapsack on the floor. "How?"

"We need an Elder to do it, right?" said Sophie. "I figured out a way how to become one."

"Soph, you can't just become an Elder," Sabine said as she shook her head at Sophie's idea. "That power has to be _bestowed_ upon you by the other Elders, all of whom are dead. Following my logic?"

"How about follow your history?" countered Sophie, to which Sabine raised an eyebrow at. "I did research. Two thousand years ago, there was a Natural witch called Lilwen, a very powerful witch that only ruled by magic she did not need bestowed upon her, which is what a Natural is. Her younger brother Silas is also well-known as the First Immortal Being, apart from Lilwen and Qetsiyah."

"What does a two thousand year old witch have to do with our current situation?" asked Sabine, completely lost as to where Sophie was headed. "Let's not forget that you're talking about a witch from a bedtime story."

"Gwen Pierson is a direct descendant of Lilwen and Silas," Sophie revealed. Sabine's eyes widened, but they did so in surprise, her mind already working on how this would benefit her in the long run. "I thought this information would come in handy for future purposes."

"How do you know she's Lilwen's descendant?" asked Sabine.

Sophie shrugged her shoulders. "Hayley might've given me her last name, which only left me looking through Gwen's family tree and it is filled with generations of witches with only a single survivor from each one. It's like they're cursed to only provide a single member of their family to repopulate and the cycle would begin again."

"Crazy," mumbled Sabine.

"I thought about taking Gwen's power, but then we'd have to fight the entire Mikaelson family and her limitless power, and I doubt we'd be able to harness that amount of magic," Sophie explained. "So I turned my attention elsewhere. In 1742, there was a witch massacre that wiped out all the Elders, so they decided whoever consecrated the most powerful dead witch in the community became an Elder." Sophie watched as Sabine nodded along, the information sinking in. "It worked for them."

"Teeny flaw," said Sabine. "What powerful witch is even left for you to bury?"

Sophie grinned before she bent over to kneel on the floor and grabbed her knapsack. She rummaged around the knapsack between the bones she dug up the night before, searching for the photo of the witch she had been searching for before handing it to Sabine. "Meet Marie-Hélène Dubois, Elijah Mikaelson's old lover." Sabine hesitantly reached for the photo and stared at the familiar face. "She was drowned in 1821 for being a witch. He buried her, never told anyone where."

"So how the hell did you find her?" asked Sabine, her eyes distant as she stared at the photo.

Sophie rummaged around the knapsack as she took the bones out to display them to Sabine. "Courtesy of Hayley proving information once more after I bribed her to read his journals, and then I dug her ass up so I could consecrate her bones and absorb her power, instead of going on a suicidal mission to get Gwen's power."

" _That's_ not disrespectful," Sabine said, appalled by Sophie's bold plan.

"Yeah?" Sophie sighed. "Well, we only have a couple of more weeks to complete the Harvest."

"Soph, I'm aware of our deadline, but—"

"And if we fail," Sophie said forcefully, cutting off Sabine, "the witches are done for in this town. Our power will fade for good. Those girls sacrificed will never resurrect. My niece will never come back." She locked eyes with Sabine before she picked herself up from the floor. "If digging up some creepy old bones means I get Monique back, I don't care about anything else."

"I happen to care," Elijah announced as he stood at the doorway of the tomb, his eyes narrowed on Sophie's figure after having glanced at Celeste's bones on the floor. "You're coming with me," he said to Sophie before turned around to leave, knowing that Sophie had no choice but to follow him.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Oh, now I have gone and made a mess of things. Gwen has still not let go of that nice side of hers to help people that she acknowledges as enemies, but things will get more complicated for her later on. And she is involved with Kol and the Mikaelsons, so that good side of hers will not always be there for when things get rough. She has yet to grow a badass bone, but I plan on bringing it out of her soon enough.**

 **Remember to review and share whatever thoughts plague your mind about anything, I'll like anything you give me to continue this story. You can also Fave and Follow to your heart's content!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	21. Chapter 20

**Hello, hello! It's been quite a while. I apologize immensely about how long it's taken me to post a new chapter, but having no internet at home and having to fix my laptop and then having to write everything again is a pain in my behind. It was a monstrous disaster that I managed to fix. College life made it even more impossible to do, but I still managed for you guys. I hope you guys can forgive me, but I am finally back!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious. (I missed this!).**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

* * *

"Kol, I'm fine," Gwen said as she fought Kol's warning about lying back down on their bed, having been moved there to make it more comfortable for her. She felt the weight of Davina's magic still present within her, but not as strong as when she vomited the dirt. She looked up and sent Kol a reassuring smile from where he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "But I would really like some water."

"Here you are," Klaus said as he entered the room and handed her a glass of water that he had fetched for her without needing to be asked to do so. Not only were things seeming to be falling apart, the last thing Klaus needed was to have his best friend sick or in any danger. Gwen took the glass and drank the water eagerly, her throat dry and her body hot. "How can this be affecting you in such a way?"

Gwen shook her head as Kol took the glass of water and placed it on the nightstand. "I don't know," she sighed. "I just made a small spell to link her with me, since I thought it was a headache and I heal faster than her."

"Darling, you have might as well linked yourself to whatever fate befalls to a teenage girl that thinks she can take on the world, but can't," Kol argued, trying to contain his anger towards the situation. The last thing he wanted for Gwen was to be in anymore pain than she already was in. "You need to unlink yourself from her."

Gwen nodded and sat up on the bed with her eyes closed. She only had to locate the link within her and unravel it, considering she did not use any item to bind herself to Davina. Kol and Klaus now stood beside one another as they watched Gwen. Gwen took a deep breath as she relaxed her body, but she felt strange, her frown giving away to Klaus and Kol that something wasn't right. She tried to tap into her magic, but she felt her chest tighten and gasped. She tried to push through whatever it was that kept her magic from surfacing, but came up short. She groaned and her eyes snapped open, placing her hand on her abdomen that flared up with pain.

"Gwen?" Kol asked as he sat in front of Gwen, feeling quite helpless. "Tell me what's wrong."

Gwen looked up and glanced between Kol and Klaus. "I can't do it."

"What do you mean 'you can't do it'?" Klaus asked, desperate to have her safe from harm, so that he'd be able to deal with everything else.

"My magic's there, but something keeps me from it," Gwen explained. She locked her frightened eyes with Kol's. "I can't break the link."

"I'll see where Elijah is with that witch," Klaus said as he fished his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. "Kol," he said before he left the room as Gwen curled up on the bed again with Kol's hand rubbing her back as she whimpered. "Nothing happens to her."

Kol merely nodded as Klaus left the room to find Elijah before his attention was solely on Gwen, his mind already thinking up on any herbal remedy that he learned throughout his time spent with witches around the world. "Everything will be all right, my darling," he cooed as Gwen tried to rest, her body aching. "I'll make everything better."

* * *

Elijah stood in the bar room with Sophie and Rebekah, both eager to get some answers out of Sophie about what was happening to Davina and Gwen. He thought that by bringing Sophie to the Compound she'd be able to find a way to solve their current predicament with the two witches that resided in their home and that were apparently sick. Just then Klaus appeared in the room.

"Good," Klaus said, his face serious and hard as he stared at Sophie. "Just the witch we were looking for."

"So you have stolen the remains of the very person that Davina's been drawing for months," Elijah began as he sat on the chair at the desk of the room. "Would you care to explain this startling coincidence?"

Sophie inspected the drawing of Celeste, her features contorted in confusion. "I can't." She looked to Elijah. "I didn't even know who Celeste Dubois was until I—"

Sophie was interrupted by Davina screaming, which was followed by Gwen's own scream before the house shook violently, much like the earthquake they had felt earlier. Sophie gasped and looked alarmed as she watched the house shake, whereas Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah stayed still and irritated by the same happening that occurred every once in a while.

"Was that Davina?" asked Sophie.

"A charming little habit she's developed," Klaus said as he went to serve himself a drink.

"And the earthquake I felt today?" asked Sophie, needing confirmation to what she assumed was the accelerated process of the Harvest.

"Also them," said Rebekah. "And, they've taken to vomiting dirt."

Sophie frowned. "'Them'?"

"Me," Gwen announced as she stood by the doorway of the room with Kol's arm around her waist to support her. Gwen's skin was ridiculously pale and her eyes were rimmed red from having vomited dirt once again. Her body ached and felt like a furnace, which was why she only wore an amber-colored tank top with a scoop neckline and black leggings. "I tried to help her and I get the raw end of the deal when I can't break the link. So, tell me, why can't I do magic?"

Sophie looked panicked, which did nothing to sooth the worry of anyone else in the room. "Oh, we have a doubled huge problem. I thought that we had more time, but we need to complete the Harvest _now_."

"Said the desperate witch, _conveniently_ ," remarked Klaus as he took a sip of his drink.

"I'm serious!" Sophie exclaimed, trying to make them understand the heaviness of the situation. "That earthquake you just felt is a preview of the disaster movie that is about to hit us." She looked to Gwen. "You're linked to her and, if we don't complete the Harvest, you _will_ meet the same fate."

Gwen shook her head. "There has to be some other way."

"Which begs the question of why should we believe you?" asked Elijah, not entirely convinced by Sophie's claims, but seeing logic to them.

"You've met Davina, you know her story," said Sophie. "For months now, she's been holding all the power of the three girls sacrificed in the Harvest ritual, a force that was meant to flow through her and back into the earth. One person was never meant to hold that much power." She calmed down from her rant and locked eyes with Gwen once more. "That amount of erratic magic is enough to counter your magic after you linked yourself to her and it will keep you from tapping into it. Your link cannot be broken until we finish the ritual. It will tear her apart, which includes you, and take us all down with it."

* * *

After Sophie explained what would happen should the Harvest ritual be cancelled, everyone went on their own ways to spread the word and make preparations. Sophie had explained that Davina would go through four stages that represented the elements that bound the Harvest, which also meant that Gwen would be going through them. It was explained that Earth would come as the first stage in the form of the earthquake that was felt earlier in the day. The second stage would be wind that was as strong as a hurricane, which would be followed by the third stage, which would be water in the form of a flood. The last stage was to be the worst, and it would be fire so strong that it would turn New Orleans into ash and everyone in it. Klaus had gone to meet with Father Kieran and prepare shelter for the upcoming disasters, which left Rebekah to explain the situation to Davina.

"What happens if the Harvest is not completed?" Gwen asked as she sat on an armchair in the living room. She was sweating and burning up, even with Kol making her herb remedies to help her. They were joined by Marcel and Elijah as they waited for Sophie to further convince them on what the solution should be. "What happens to me and Davina?"

"If we don't complete the Harvest, you will be dragged down with Davina by the bit of magic that she passed to you in your linking spell and die, which is what is not letting you access your own," explained Sophie. "Every bit of magic that was meant to return to the earth will meet the same end, which includes the bit of Ancestral magic in you."

"There has to be another way," Gwen insisted as Kol handed her another remedy for her to try, sitting on the armrest of the armchair she sat on.

"You've convinced almost everyone," said Elijah. "You have yet to convince us."

"Oh, come on, Elijah," Kol said as he got to his feet rather abruptly. "The girl meddled with Ancestral magic and is now endangering Gwen's life; she should commit to the consequences of her actions and assume the role that was given to her."

"Davina is just a girl and does not need to assume any role given by the Ancestors," Marcel jabbed as he glared at Kol. "Your girl is connected to Davina; whatever happens to her also happens to Gwen."

"Not exactly," Sophie cut in, catching Kol's, Elijah's, Gwen's and Marcel's attentions. "Once the Harvest is done and Davina is sacrificed, the Ancestral magic in Gwen will also flow back into the earth."

Kol shrugged. "When do we start?"

"Kol!" chastised Gwen.

Sophie groaned in frustration at the fact that they could not see how devastating it would be to not complete the Harvest. "We don't have time to waste," she pressed, while Marcel stared at her from across the coffee table as he sat on the sofa in the room. "The first sign's already come and gone."

"So fix her," grounded Marcel through clenched teeth.

"She can't be fixed," argued Sophie in return. "She can't be saved. This will not stop at the earth sign, and if you wait it out, you immortals will be the only ones left to argue about it."

Gwen yelped at the sound of extremely strong winds started to blow through the Quarter, bursting many of the Compound's windows open. The winds were caused by Davina's distress at being given a shot with a sedative to keep her calm by Rebekah, considering that the more upset she got the faster she deteriorated. Davina's distress was also felt by Gwen, who groaned at the pain that coursed through her body, each time heightening. Kol knelt on the floor in front of Gwen, pressing his forehead against her own to offer her some comfort, wishing he would be the one to deal with the pain and not her.

Even Klaus and Father Kieran felt the strong winds from the street out in the Quarter, as if a hurricane was approaching. But only after Rebekah sedated Davina, the girl falling unconscious, did the winds finally subsided. The winds grew stronger by the second, almost turning into a massive tornado that had the strength to destroy everything that stood in New Orleans.

"Convinced now?" asked Sophie.

The room fell silent for a few moments, no one knowing what to say to at least alleviate the current situation. Marcel only stomped out of the room in haste, going to make sure that Davina was all right and out of harm's way. This left Kol and Elijah to make a decision, even if it meant that many won't like it.

"Niklaus has returned," Elijah announced after hearing Klaus entering the Compound before he turned to Sophie. "Make the preparations for the Harvest ritual." Sophie nodded and stood up, only to be stopped by Elijah grabbing her arm in a tight grip. "You best hope that the girl will come out of this alive."

Sophie nodded and got her arm back from Elijah's hold. "It _will_ work," she said before she left.

"I'll make you another tea, darling," Kol said to Gwen, who only nodded and curled up on the armchair.

Sophie's sincerity and confidence in her words was what convinced Elijah that Sophie's belief in the Harvest was not entirely outstretched. He left the room and went to the courtyard to meet Klaus at the front door. Kol pressed his lips against Gwen's hot temple before he also left the room, but decided to follow Elijah before he made another herb remedy for Gwen. He needed reassurance that they would do everything in their power to save Gwen's life, and he was not about to leave it up to Klaus, Elijah or Marcel.

"We sedated her too heavily," announced Elijah as Kol met him and Klaus on the courtyard.

"Well, if this is her sedated, I'd hate to see her otherwise," Klaus said, picking up a chair to place it back in its place. He looked to Kol and asked, "How's Gwen doing?"

"As Davina grows worse, so does Gwen," said Kol.

"Good thing that we all agreed that Davina must be sacrificed," said Klaus. "There's no need to let her blow the roof off our heads in the meantime."

"No way!" Marcel raged from the second floor as he leapt off to land on the first floor. "You're not touching her." He was fast in his movements as he pulled his hand back before thrusting it into Klaus' face, causing the Original hybrid to fall on his knees. Marcel was going to pounce on him once more as Klaus climbed to his feet, but Kol was fast enough to throw Marcel back against the concrete wall, not in the mood for mindless fights.

"Okay," Klaus said as he rubbed the area of his face that Marcel had punched, "I'll let you have that one."

"Can we focus on the task at hand?" Kol said in a hard tone, drawing the attention of everyone. Marcel approached them, still glaring at Klaus. "Gwen and Davina are both in danger, and it seems that the only way to save them and everyone else in this accursed town is to play by the witches' terms, whether we like it or not." He took a deep breath and calmed down. "We can deal with the details _after_ we save both girls." Kol wanted to say that he only wanted to save Gwen, but that only guaranteed Marcel's protest.

"Kol's right," Elijah said, which prompted surprise upon everyone's face. He sighed and ignored their looks before he looked at Marcel. "Marcel, no one wishes Davina come to harm less than I, even Miss Gwen, but there is no scenario here in which we simply wait this out. They are going to die."

"According to Sophie, the witch who screwed over everybody here," argued Marcel.

Kol scoffed. "I don't bloody care, so long as we all make it out alive."

"The Harvest was working before it was stopped," explained Elijah. "If a nonbeliever like Sophie Deveraux can come to have faith that these girls will be resurrected, then I, also, am a believer."

Kol sighed and faced Marcel, deciding to try to be mature and get through to Marcel. "Look, whelp, I understand how you feel and how hard this must be for you." Marcel scoffed, but Kol chose to ignore that. "Gwen's life is tied to Davina's, and I refuse to let her die."

"And, like your girl was saved, I saved Davina from the Harvest," Marcel said. He saw how honest Kol was as he spoke about Gwen, and felt how true he was being, but he was reluctant to place Davina's life in the Mikaelsons' hands. He pushed past Elijah and Kol to stand toe to toe with Klaus. "Now you want me to just hand her over?"

"Do you think that I'm happy about this?" asked Klaus, his mind going to Gwen before anything else. "This is also Gwen's life we're talking about, my best friend. And if the witches complete the Harvest, not only do they regain their power, we lose our weapon against them and give them even more power." Marcel huffed in disbelief at what Klaus considered a priority. "The earthquake I was willing to chalk up to hideous coincidence, but these winds?" Klaus gestured to the still-violent winds outside of the Compound, even with Davina unconscious. "If Davina is not sacrificed, then every inch of earth that shook, everything blowing about now will soon be drenched in water and consumed by fire. And this also includes Gwen's life."

"Oh!" Marcel laughed mirthlessly. "Now you care about someone and your city!"

"We ought to," said Elijah before Kol could argue with Marcel. "We built this city from the ground, and Miss Gwen is a member of our family."

"And we all saw it burnt to the ground twice," said Klaus.

Kol raised a hand. "This will be my first time."

"Not now," Klaus said as he scowled at Kol before he returned his attention to Marcel. "I will not lose this city nor will I lose Gwen." He narrowed his eyes at Marcel. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah," Marcel relented as he mumbled his answer once more, unable to say anything else when he had three Originals breathing down his neck. He turned around and angrily left the three Mikaelson brothers to check on Davina, a plan already forming in his mind about how he'd keep the brunette witch safe from any harm.

Elijah and Kol turned to Klaus, giving him a look, to which Klaus frowned and asked, "What?"

"Not a people person, are you, Niklaus?" Elijah said in jest.

"Nonsense, I love people," said Klaus. "Just on my way to warn a couple of prominent ones in case the weather gets out of hand. If you fancy yourself as _plus diplomatique_ , perhaps you'd like to come along."

"No," Elijah sighed with his hands crossed over his chest. "Soon, Sophie Deverauz shall be consecrating Celeste's remains, and though her actions are reprehensible, still I should pay my respects."

"Kol!" Hayley called as she entered the courtyard. "Gwen isn't looking too good."

Kol sighed and went to leave, but Klaus stopped him to lock eyes with him with a gentle hold. "She will be fine, little brother." Kol nodded as Klaus released him. "I won't allow Gwen to meet death once more, even if it comes to a decision between her and the little witch."

Elijah approached Kol and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, noticing how frightened Kol truly was. This vulnerability brought Elijah back to a time he held close to his heart, and he was quite fond of the few times that a young Kol would run to him, be it with fear or excitement. "I promise you that Miss Gwen will come to no harm." Kol took a deep breath, unable to believe that his brothers were actually choosing him above anyone else. "We lost you once; I will not let you become lost to us again." Elijah squeezed Kol's shoulder, the latter nodding, considering he was at a loss of words. "Go to her and make sure you're both ready for whatever comes our way."

"Thank you," Kol said as Elijah dropped his hand to his side. The youngest brother alternated his gaze between his brothers. "You do this—you save her—and we start over on a clean slate." Elijah and Klaus glanced at one another. "No more grudges or living separate from each other, I'll forgive you for everything and anything up to this point."

Klaus grasped both of Kol's shoulders, not caring that they were facing the possibility of the end for New Orleans. "All will be forgiven. My mistake before was not telling you how glad I was to see you walk through that door the day you arrived to New Orleans, to see you alive after I was too late to stop your death." Klaus squeezed Kol's shoulders—much like Elijah did a moment ago—before he brought his little brother into an embrace, which Kol returned. Klaus pulled away from the embrace. "Go take care of our girl." Kol nodded and left to find Gwen.

Elijah watched Kol leave, pointedly ignoring Hayley's presence. "She will survive this, even if sacrifices need to be made."

"As you've said before, brother," Klaus murmured and sighed, "family above all."

Elijah went to leave, so Hayley decided to approach him. "Hey," she greeted as she tried to follow him. "Do you have a minute?"

"Just on my way out," Elijah replied rather coldly, stopping Hayley in her tracks to watch him and Klaus leave the Compound.

Klaus glanced back at Hayley before following after Elijah, but not before making a remark towards his brother's back. "Which one of us is the people person again?"

* * *

The wind in the French Quarter whipped with much force against anything that stood in its way, leaving nothing balanced, which included the signs that hanged from establishments, including the one that belonged to _Rousseau's_. Inside the bar, Sophie worked to clean up the mess that was caused by the earlier earthquake and wind, including broken glass from busted liquor bottles and papers strewn around the restaurant. It was to this that Rebekah arrived to when she silently appeared behind Sophie, seated on one of the stools at the bar with Sophie managing the liquor bottles on the other side of the bar's counter.

"Fat lot of good that will do," Rebekah said, startling Sophie.

Sophie sighed as she glanced at Rebekah before going back to work. "I don't really have time to socialize."

"Good, neither do I," said Rebekah with Sophie still giving her back to the Original. "When you're done burying your witchy bits on sacred ground, are you prepared to perform the Harvest? You _do_ realize you have to slit a girl's throat, a very sweet girl as it turns out, but a necessary evil, if I am to keep the only girlfriend that's ever given a crap about me."

"If it means I get my niece Monique back, I can handle anything," Sophie said and finally turned from her cleaning to face Rebekah with narrowed eyes and crossed arms over her chest. "Why are you really here?"

"For one, I need you to not hesitate when the time comes, because the death of my dear friend will bring about the wrath of not just one Original, but that of us all," Rebekah warned with cold and detached eyes as they bore into Sophie's. She knew what would happen, if Gwen should die with Davina. Kol would be an uncontrollable whirlwind of death, Klaus would destroy the city, Elijah would not hesitate to enact justice and she herself would take matters into her own hands to make others suffer as they have. "But, also, when all this is done, after Davina is resurrected and the witches get their power back, you'll have a decision to make."

"Enlighten me," said Sophie.

"A witch at her full power can trade body blows with a vampire punch for punch," explained Rebekah, trying to be subtle about what she was proposing. "Believe me, I know."

"So do I," Sophie sighed as she continued to clean up on the counter. "Be nice to have a fair fight for a change."

"Well, fair only gets you so far, love," began Rebekah. "Clever gets you further. After this, Marcel will still be here, and so will Klaus." Sophie frowned at this, already having an idea as to where Rebekah was headed with this line of conversation. "And you know better than anyone that those two don't fight fair. You are going to need an Original on your side, and I'm gonna need a witch on mine if we're gonna stop those two from running things."

"Am I missing something?" Sophie frowned, not understanding why Rebekah would side against her own family. "Why would you side with me?"

Rebekah grinned. "Sometimes, what's more important is not who you're siding with, but who you're siding against."

* * *

Back at the Mikaelson home, Kol helped Gwen sit up on their bed against a pillow to help her when she swallowed the tea he had prepared for her. It was one of his most effective potions, at least to numb any pain and slow any type of magic that coursed through her body. Hayley sat on Gwen's other side, dabbing her fevered forehead with a wet towel. Gwen's nose scrunched up the moment Kol's tea entered her mouth, which ended up with her having a coughing fit. And still, Gwen didn't feel any better, but not any worse. Kol placed the cup on the nightstand before he stared at Gwen. He was frustrated and hated having to wait around until his family solved their problem. He needed to be doing something, if he wanted to keep calm. He was not a man that stood aside while others made most of the work.

Gwen noticed the look on Kol's face and smiled up at him, gaining his attention when she placed her hand on top of his. Hayley stopped her ministrations and picked up the bowl of water that had gone too warm for her liking. She picked it and the towel up before excusing herself to go get colder water. Kol's eyes locked with her eyes and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed with her hand grasped in his on his lap.

"You can't stand to be so still," said Gwen, her voice hoarser than its usual norm. "Go help your brothers and sister."

Kol huffed. "Nik is warning distressed people to take shelter, Elijah's paying his respects to his dead lover and Rebekah is off doing something stupid." He tightened his hold on her hand and his eyes glanced to the drawer of the nightstand next to them, his mind going to the velvet box he lodged on the back of the drawer. He then turned his eyes to Gwen's green ones. "I'm where I'm supposed to be."

"Being a womanizer has given you good experience when using smooth words," she said as she smiled at him.

"I do tend to make myself irresistible to everyone," said Kol as he grinned at her. He lifted her hand in his to his lips and kissed it before lowering it back down to his lap. "You will survive this."

"What about Davina?" Gwen asked. She knew that Kol and Klaus would do everything in their power to keep her alive, but she didn't want Davina to perish, she was just a teenager with no idea about what she got herself into.

Kol sighed as he stroked her hand with both of his thumbs. "We've made a decision; unanimous, if you must know."

"What decision?" Gwen asked.

"We save you," he said, his eyes serious, and Gwen knew that he was not going to give her any room for argument, "no matter the sacrifices that need to be made."

In another room, Marcel stood at Davina's bedside and watched her as she lay unconscious on her bed, having heard Kol's words. Two vampires stood near the door, posted there by Klaus to keep watch over Davina and to eliminate any threat. Marcel suddenly had flashes to when he saved Davina from the first attempt at the Harvest ritual, when one of the older witches held her back as she watched Monique be killed, a sight that deeply marked the young witch that had yet to even experience all that there was about being a witch. Marcel could still hear Davina's pleas to the Elders to stop slaughtering her friends, but they were met by deaf ears.

The image of a screaming and crying Davina was enough to steel Marcel's resolve. He had no reason to wish death upon Gwen, but Davina was more important. He knew that this would only serve to have the Original family on his tail, but he needed to protect Davina.

"Hey," said the male of the two guards Klaus had left behind as he watched Marcel pull out the IV of sedatives attached to Davina's arm. "Klaus said not to."

"I'm done caring what Klaus says," Marcel said to them over his shoulder.

Sensing their intent to stop him, Marcel anticipated their quick moves to lunge at him, but he was quick to snap their necks without a second thought. His resolve was made and he was not turning back. He turned back to Davina's still form and picked her up in his arms before he rushed out of the room and out of the Compound.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed and that you will be expecting for more, 'cause I finally have the control back and I am ready to start up with my series again. I once again apologize for having taken so long to fix the problem. But, I am back and ready to do this!**

 **I ask for your thoughts, even if it is to chew me out for taking so long, but I'd appreciate for positive reviews about the story so far.**

 **Thanks for your support and unwavering devotion.**

 **See ya later!**


	22. Chapter 21

**Greetings, fellow Fanfictioners! Here is another chapter that I hope you like. With this chapter we end the first half of The Originals and the chapter of the Harvest, so now we can move on to more interesting chapters. I'd also like to point out that the engagement ring Kol bought will go through many trials before Kol will get to pop the question, considering it was an impulse buy that was not planned. But, trust me, drama is ahead.**

 **I will also be posting chapters around weekends because it's the only free time I have.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

* * *

" _ **Where is he**_?" roared Kol, his voice was filled with so much rage that it practically had the whole Mikaelson Compound vibrating with his anger. And this was what Rebekah had arrived to when she stepped into her ancient home that she had built with her brothers, now it was filled with so much anger and death that it was but a foreign place to her. She walked up the steps and met Kol at a balcony when he rounded a corner with a look on his face that said he was out for blood. "Where is that bastard whelp?"

"Calm down, Kol," Rebekah said as she grasped her older brother's coat-clad shoulders with her hands to keep him from doing anything foolish. "What is it?" She grew worried with how Kol was practically trembling with anger, which usually meant that a street-wide massacre would happen shortly. "What's happened?"

"Your bloody ex took Davina!" He yelled, shrugging off her hands from his shoulders as he began to pace in front of her. "And now we are one Harvest girl short, so the Harvest cannot be completed and I will lose Gwen." He cleared his mind and gulped down his anger before he turned to Rebekah. "I'm gonna go find him and rip him apart before I sacrifice that girl for all to see!"

"Kol, wait!" Rebekah followed him as he walked down the stairs. "What about Gwen, you can't just leave her?" She knew her pleading was in vain, but she didn't want Marcel to die, least of all at the hands of Kol, who was sure to make his death a long one.

Kol stopped to turn to her and pointed a finger at her. "That is why you are here, sister."

"What?" Rebekah frowned.

"The resident pregnant wolf does not provide any safety for Gwen, and so I need you to watch over Gwen and not let her out of your side," Kol told her, but to Rebekah it sounded like both a plea and an order. Kol took a deep breath and calmed down some. "I need you to promise me that she will be all right while under your care, Bekah." Rebekah nodded with her eyes soft. "I _can't_ afford to lose her."

"She'll be safe," promised Rebekah. The sincerity in his eyes was enough to undo any resolve Rebekah had to fight Kol on this. "I promise, brother."

"What is the need for such promises?" Klaus asked as he entered the Mikaelson Compound, his eyes shifting from his brother to his sister and back as he approached them. "What's happened?"

"We have an inconvenience," answered Rebekah.

"I'll start to look around the city and find anyone with information to torture out of them," Kol said as he turned back around to walk out of the Abattoir without offering his own explanation to Klaus. "Call me when you get a lead on him."

Klaus turned back to Rebekah with narrowed eyes. "Please, tell me that we still have two witches accounted for."

Rebekah sighed before she turned around and walked up the stairs as her fingers worked on dialing Elijah's phone number. Klaus followed behind his younger sister as they made their way to Davina's room that still had the two bodies of the bodyguards that Klaus ordered to guard the young witch on the floor. Gwen appeared at the doorway of the room, her body so weak that she had to fully lean her body against the doorframe and her breathing ragged. She looked around the room and knew that things had gone downhill.

"Where's…" she coughed. "Where's Davina?"

"You're not supposed to be out of bed," Klaus chastised as he went over to her and grasped her arm in a gentle hold to help keep her steady.

"I'm fine, for now," she breathed, trying to keep oxygen flowing through her lungs.

"He's taken the girl," Rebekah said into her phone after Elijah picked up her call and greeted her.

" _Who has?_ " She could _feel_ the frown on Elijah's features.

Rebekah was fuming, barely keeping her temper in check. "Bloody, bloody Marcel!"

"And you wanted to run off and start a new life with this backstabber!" Klaus snorted, earning himself a weak slap on his chest from Gwen and a glare from Rebekah.

"Says the man who was shacking up with him not two seconds before all this went down," she spat at Klaus.

The wind picked up once more as Gwen yelped, clutching her abdomen with one hand as pain radiated throughout her body. "Gwen!" Klaus' worry was growing by the second and Rebekah was doing no better than him.

Rebekah went back to talking to Elijah on the phone. "Okay, we need to divide and conquer if we're gonna stand a chance." She glanced at Klaus as he held Gwen against his body, allowing her to work through the spasm of pain that had her whimpering. "He could have gone anywhere, and Kol's already out looking for him."

" _Well, I'm here with Sabine,_ " Elijah supplied. " _Perhaps we could try a locator spell?_ "

"I'll look after Gwen," Rebekah said as she walked over to Klaus and Gwen, her eyes locking with Klaus'. "I made a promise."

Klaus nodded. "I'll talk to the priest. They might even be at the church. It's the last place we'd think to look for them, right?"

"Hayley's going to the church," Gwen said to Klaus as Rebekah ended her call with Elijah. "You should take her with you."

Klaus grumbled under his breath about pregnant werewolves not sitting still before he left the room, leaving Gwen in the care of his sister.

* * *

Davina woke up confused as the sound of thunder reached her ears. Anxiety took over her body as her eyes wildly inspected her surroundings, her last memory being that of Rebekah injecting a needle filled with sedative into her arm. She panicked when her eyes landed on Marcel's figure and quickly sat up. Seeing him as an enemy, she telekinetically threw him against the wall of the storage locker they found themselves in with many items that included canned food and other essentials for when a storm rolled around.

Marcel groaned in pain before he jumped to his feet and turned to Davina. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"I don't believe you!" Davina seethed as she scowled at Marcel. "You want to kill me, just like everyone else."

"I'm the one who put a protection spell on you, D," Marcel said in his defense, deciding to sooth Davina's temper, considering she was acting like a wounded animal backed against a corner. "That's why Tim's dead and you're not, and before you throw me again, if I had known anything was gonna happen to your friend, I would have protected him, too."

Davina gasped. "You're the one who saved me?"

"Yeah, but now the witch who did the spell is in league with the rest of them, so I had to take you away," Marcel explained, keeping his hands up to show Davina he had surrendered to her and meant her no harm.

Davina's eyes still held suspicion. "So you could use me as a weapon?"

"I'm trying to keep you safe," Marcel argued, to which Davina scoffed at. "Davina, look at me." And she did as he asked. "I messed up," he began, knowing he had to convince her of his true intentions. He would die before allowing anything—or anyone, for that matter—hurt her. "All this power that you have, it gave me an advantage." He took this opportunity that she had calmed down to slowly approach her. "It helped me punish the witches, and it let me run the city, and I let that mean too much. All right, but that's over with now." He sighed, forcing his eyes to convey his emotions to allow Davina to see right through him. "One survivor to another, all I want to do is keep you alive, I swear."

"I'm scared," she sobbed; finally releasing her pent up fears, Davina trembled as thunder rumbled in the stormy skies. "I don't know what's wrong with me, and I hurt Gwen."

"You're not alone," Marcel cooed, sitting down on the mattress he placed Davina on to rest, his hands coming up to rub her shoulders in comfort. "We'll fix this." He decided to ignore Davina's worry over Gwen.

"You won't let them hurt me?" she asked, tears finally leaking down her pale cheeks.

"No." Marcel shook his head before he brought her into his arms. "Nobody's gonna touch you."

* * *

"And here I thought I was the one off my rocker," Kol snorted as he offered Gwen some tea before he sat next to her with his own scotch drink, Rebekah sitting on his other side on the sofa and Klaus sitting on the armrest that was next to Gwen. The Original siblings and Gwen were gathered by Elijah in the living room to discuss his newest idea about how to complete the Harvest, while Sophie did the same with Sabine in the Lafayette Cemetery. "Do you even comprehend what is coming out of your mouth?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes at Elijah's proposal. "I'm with Kol," she said. "It's taken a thousand years, but you've finally gone mad." She scoffed. "Our own mother?"

"Yes, our beloved mother, who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement." Elijah glanced at Klaus, who smirked. "Not daggered, but quite dead."

"Well, she did try to kill us all," Klaus remarked, believing it was enough to justify all of his actions against his mother.

"Well, I say we put her to use and put her to rest once and for all," Elijah explained, his eyes shifting from one sibling to another and to Gwen. "Now if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendants, she becomes a New Orleans witch, and we, as her family, share in that Ancestral magic."

"We're vampires, Elijah," said Rebekah.

"We can't practice magic," Kol supplied and glanced at Gwen, satisfied that she was drinking her tea without complaint, even if it was clear that she despised the liquid. "And Gwen is in no condition to do any magic."

"Or own property, for that matter," added Rebekah.

"Yes," Elijah sighed. "With regard to practicing magic..."

Gwen, having noticed where Elijah was headed with this, spoke up. "That's where Sophie comes in." Her voice was hoarse, but the Originals around her understood her perfectly. "She can channel your mother through all of you and to her own person, which means you all have to participate in the Harvest."

"Quite on point, Miss Gwen," Elijah said with a grin adorning his lips. "And since you possess some of Davina's magic, you'd also have to participate to be able to have all of the ingredients." He glanced at Rebekah. "And as for owning property," he began and reached into a drawer of a cabinet before he pulled out a certificate, "not all of our mother's descendants are dead."

"The baby," Klaus said, completely taken by surprise with the idea.

"The baby," Elijah sighed. "The parish Tax Assessor's office is just steps outside of the Quarter." He extended the certificate to Klaus, who took it to look it over. "Hayley now holds the title to the Plantation." Kol, Rebekah and Gwen glanced at the piece of paper that Klaus held in his hands. "So, if we bury our mother there, and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the Harvest ritual."

Klaus grinned. "You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah."

"And here I thought I was the only one in the family with some witch influence," Kol said as he also grinned at Elijah before he stood and walked up to Elijah. "I'm in."

"Count me in, too," Klaus said as he also stood to stand by his brothers.

"Am I the only one thinking?" Rebekah asked, earning everyone's attention. "Our mother was the most powerful witch in history."

"Her power would become one with every witch in New Orleans," Gwen said in understanding.

Rebekah nodded. "Handing that power to our enemies to use against us."

"Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Rebekah," Elijah sighed.

Rebekah sighed in frustration. "I don't know why I bother." She frowned at her older brothers, mostly at Klaus and Elijah. "You two will just do what you want anyway."

"No," said Elijah. "Our decision must be unanimous, which include you, Miss Gwen."

Gwen cocked an eyebrow, confused. "What?"

"You are a member of this family," Elijah began. "Your opinion counts."

"First lesson in being part of this family, it is not a democracy," Klaus said, annoyed.

"You are quite right, brother, this _is_ family," Elijah said, his gaze on both Rebekah and Gwen.

Suddenly, Gwen dropped her cup, which broke into small pieces as she groaned in pain. "Weny?" Rebekah asked in worry as she wrapped an arm around Gwen's shoulders, while Kol sat down on Gwen's other side and stroked her hair. "What's wrong now?" Her question was answered when thunder was heard and the sound of a rainstorm poured down hard on the house.

"Water," Elijah whispered, gazing at the pouring rain through the window before he turned back to Rebekah and Gwen. "The next sign's begun."

"Time's running out," Kol summarized as he shifted Gwen from Rebekah's arms to his own embrace, his emotions getting the best of him at the thought of losing his angel that trembled with pain in his arms. "I need to find Marcel."

"Miss Gwen?" Elijah asked once more in reference to what they discussed.

"I'm in," Gwen choked out through her pain before she whimpered, the feeling of her body shutting down too powerful for her to gulp down.

Elijah then turned to Rebekah. "Rebekah?"

"Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow," Rebekah reluctantly sighed. Gwen's pain-filled face was enough to have her drop any other argument she had at the tip of her tongue. "Count me in."

"Well, this is no family reunion without our mother." Klaus smirked. "I'll fetch her."

"I'll go out and try to find Marcel," Kol said as he stood once more to leave, but was stopped by Rebekah's voice.

"I'll go with you," Rebekah said. She knew that if Kol found Marcel and the latter resisted then he would kill her former lover, so she needed to go to make sure that no more blood would be spilled in her family. Kol opened his mouth to object, needing her to remain by Gwen's side, but she spoke up first. "You'll have more luck finding him with me than without me. Gwen will be perfectly safe with Nik and Elijah."

"Rebekah knows Marcel, brother," said Elijah.

Gwen saw the reluctance in Kol's eyes, so she said, "You need her, and I'll be fine with your brothers."

Kol sighed heavily before he approached Gwen as she stood straight with Rebekah's hands on her shoulders. "I'll find you, so don't die on me just yet," he said as he placed a hand on her fevered and flushed cheek. Gwen nodded before he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and turned to Rebekah. "Let's go." Rebekah nodded and followed him.

"Now," Elijah began as he approached Gwen, taking her arm in a delicate hold. "Let us get you into warmer clothes before we venture out." Gwen smiled and nodded.

* * *

"So much for your grand schemes of using Davina for revenge," Thierry scorned as he frowned at Rebekah as best as he could as water ran down his face in currents with a lantern and a few candles as the only source of light. Having been imprisoned in his brick cell had weakened him considerably, and so he found himself leaning his chin on against the top of the brick wall around him to be able to use what strength he had left to talk to Rebekah.

Rebekah glanced around the Garden and watched as it was slowly submerging in water as rain dropped down through the holes on the ceilings. "Survival first, plots to overthrow my brother second," she said, feeling enough pressure with Kol waiting for her in the car, which was a hard thing to convince him to do when she didn't want him to know of her plan against Klaus. "Where would Marcel hide something precious to him?"

"You think I'm just gonna offer that up so you can leave me here to rot?" Thierry chuckled mockingly. "Water runs downhill. You think I have to have drowned before to know how much that will suck."

"Fire kills vampires, Thierry!" Rebekah countered. "You think burning to ash will be pleasant?" She took a deep breath and calmed down. "Look, I am not forsaking you. I promise to live up to my end of the deal. I'll get you out of here when all of this is done." She then added, "Just tell me where Marcel would go, and I promise that no harm will come to him."

Thierry sighed in defeat. "There's a place by the docks."

* * *

Davina lay on her cot in the storage unit while Marcel sat at her bedside, comforting her as best as he could while she struggled through what was raging within her, which frustrated him to no end and made him feel useless. He decided it was best to wait out the whole ritual and push Davina through it so she could be able to come out alive.

"If I can just wait it out a few more weeks..." she panted, unable to finish her train of thought with how difficult enough it was to even breathe. "Help me, please?"

"I will, and when it's over, I'll do what I should have done," he said as he stroked her sweaty cheek, "get you out of town."

"I had a dream that Tim wasn't dead," Davina sobbed form both pain and sadness. "He played a song that he wrote for me, and he kissed me, and we were just normal."

Kol and Rebekah arrived and stood in the doorway. "That sounds like a beautiful dream," said Rebekah.

"What are you doing here?" Marcel was alarmed, especially with Kol so near Davina. He knew he could not escape the city unharmed, let alone with a raging Kol on his trail, but he could try.

Rebekah ignored Marcel. "But it was just a dream."

"Get out!" Marcel angrily yelled, but was startled when Davina bent over the edge of the cot and puked out water. This alarmed Kol, because it meant that Gwen was going through the same thing. Marcel stood and helplessly watched as Davina coughed out water before he turned to Kol and Rebekah in a defensive stance.

"This is killing her," Kol yelled. "It's killing Gwen."

"Your stubbornness will mean the death of two precious girls," Rebekah supplied.

"I promised her I'd fight for her!" Marcel argued. "I'm not breaking that promise."

Kol had had enough, so he forced Marcel against the unit's wall with a hand on the younger's neck, but kept from doing any more harm. "Don't think for a second that you're the only one with a promise like that," Kol hissed into Marcel's face, his eyes boring into Marcel's.

"Kol!" Rebekah scolded, but made no move to stop her brother.

"I have my own girl that tried to do something stupidly kind and got the raw end of the deal," he ranted as adrenaline pumped through his blood at being so close to save Gwen's life. For the first time, Kol understood Marcel and Gwen's influence on him prompted him to stay his hand from simply forcing Davina to the cemetery, and so he decided to take a page from Gwen's book for once and do something that she would be proud of. "I am a damned, lucky bastard to have such a woman at my side, so you can understand why I need her to live." He calmed down and released Marcel, but did not step away from him.

"No one is asking you not to fight," said Rebekah.

"You have in your hands the lives of two girls that have survived unimaginable odds," said Kol, backing off to allow Marcel to go to Davina's side. "I am placing my trust in you this first time, whelp." Marcel's eyes widened at this. "I am _asking_ you to do right by them, because we sure as hell don't deserve them."

"You're the only family that this girl has," Rebekah said, her words almost lost to her in her surprise at seeing Kol showing any kind of mercy to anyone that was a threat to Gwen. "You owe it to her to fight for her to live."

* * *

The Mikaelsons, Gwen and Hayley had joined Sophie at the Lafayette Cemetery, waiting for Marcel and Davina to arrive to complete the Harvest. Kol and Rebekah had met Elijah, Klaus, Gwen and Hayley at the backyard of the Plantation house, where they had dug up Esther's grave and continued to consecrate her with Father Kieran's help. All that was left was to wait for Marcel to bring Davina, considering Rebekah had assured them that they would come. Klaus stood on his own with his hoodie as his cover from the rain, while Sophie bared the weather as it soaked her hair. Rebekah and Hayley stood with their own umbrellas. And Elijah held and umbrella that he used for himself, Kol and Gwen. All of them stood around the three bodies of the young girls on an altar that were used as sacrifices for the Harvest ritual.

Gwen panted heavily and shivered, even with how covered up she was with a coat and boots over her sweater and leggings. "Kol," she mumbled before her legs failed her and was caught by Kol before she hit the muddy ground. Elijah placed his free hand on Kol's shoulder as the younger brother hoisted Gwen up in his arms and watched her as she snuggled into his chest, trying to fight off the pain in her body. "I don't feel so good."

"Just a bit longer, darling," he whispered and tightened his hold on her arms and thighs, feeling her body's temperature rising.

Elijah noticed this and removed his hand from Kol's shoulder to touch Gwen's forehead. "Even in this cool weather, her skin feels like fire."

Suddenly, flames started to erupt near the entrance, startling everyone but Sophie as she watched the fire rage high against the rain. "Fire," Sophie whispered.

After a moment, Marcel appeared with a weakened Davina in his arms. As he walked towards them, flames followed them in a trail that licked at Marcel's heels. Once they get to the altar, Marcel placed Davina on her feet on the edge of the altar and remained close to her as Sophie approached her.

Davina glanced at Gwen through the heavy rain with tears running down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Gwen."

"I can imagine that she'd tell you it wasn't your fault, but she's in no condition to answer," Kol told her before he buried his nose into Gwen's hair.

Sophie held the ceremonial athame over the flames of one of the posts around the altar before she headed towards Davina. "Your hand," she said as she extended her hand, asking for Davina's hand. "I need to now draw the Ancestral magic in Gwen to finally finish the ritual."

"Hurry up, her breathing's slowing," Kol announced as Elijah kept his free hand on Gwen's forehead to cool her with his cold hand.

Klaus was also desperate. "I can barely hear her heart, so do it now!"

Davina quickly offered her hand to Sophie, who dragged the knife on Davina's palm to stain the blade with her blood before she walked over to Kol and Elijah. "Her hand," Sophie instructed. Elijah removed his hand from Gwen's forehead to take one of her hands and offer it to Sophie. "Now that the Harvest is about to be completed, Davina's blood will draw out any of her magic that corrupted Gwen and into the knife to finally bring an end to this." She dragged the knife on Gwen's palm, the latter so far gone in her subconscious that she didn't flinch. Elijah and Kol watched as a gold light slowly left Gwen's body through her open wound and into the knife. When there was none left, Sophie retrieved the knife from Gwen's wound. "It's done."

"Gwen?" Kol murmured as he shook Gwen a little to wake her up, needing to be sure that she was going to be fine. He watched as color returned to Gwen's pale skin and lips, giving her a much livelier complexion.

"Her heartbeat is strong," said Elijah, smiling down at the young woman that was slowly waking up.

Gwen's eyes fluttered open and they locked on Kol's relieved face, to which she smiled at. "Hey, handsome." At this, Elijah, Klaus, Rebekah and Hayley smiled at in complete relief now that they were sure that Gwen's life was out of harm's way.

"You scared the bloody hell out of me," Kol whispered as he placed Gwen on her feet, but kept his arms around her waist to keep her snuggled into his chest.

"Gave us quite the scare, Miss Gwen," said Elijah as he placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder to squeeze it in comfort before retrieving it to his side and continued to hold the umbrella above the three of them.

"Sorry," Gwen whispered as she leaned into Kol's chest, happy to be in his arms and that she was alive with her cheek against Kol's coat with her hands grasping the lapels of the coat.

"We need to continue," Sophie announced and went to stand on the altar in front of Davina.

Davina smiled at Gwen. "I'm glad that you're all right."

"Davina," Gwen whispered as she smiled at the young witch, unable to offer Davina some comfort, considering there was not much one could say to comfort them about dying.

"Do you believe in the harvest?" Sophie asked Davina.

Davina nodded nervously. "I believe."

Once Davina said those words, Sophie raised the blade and slit Davina's throat with it. While Rebekah and Hayley looked away with gasps, Gwen hid her face in Kol's chest with the image of her dead sister flashing through her mind. The Mikaelson brothers endured the gruesome scene with a coldness that they had perfected throughout the decades. Davina gasped in shock, trying to suck in air into her lungs but her throat was clotted with her blood. She grabbed at her throat before she fell back into Marcel's arms. Just then, the rain stopped, and Davina's skin glowed gold as the magic left her body and flowed into the earth. He gently placed her down on the ground next to the other girls that had been sacrificed the same way before he joined everyone else on an opposite side of the altar to Sophie as she stood next to the altar and the four bodies of the young girls. They had all discarded their umbrellas and waited for the end of the ritual.

"After the Harvest comes the Reaping," Sophie began. "Their sacrifices made and accepted. We call upon our Elders to resurrect the chosen ones." Sophie looked down at the girls, expecting them to wake up, but _nothing_ happened. The rest of them looked around at each other uneasily as the young girls remained still. Sophie cleared her throat and began again. "We call upon our Elders to resurrect the chosen ones." Still, nothing happened. Sophie became flustered and tears welled up in her eyes. "Resurrect your chosen ones!" She tried once more as her heart clenched when nothing happened once more. "Please? I beg..." she mumbled as her eyes landed on her niece. It became clear that something had gone wrong, and Sophie did nothing more than to fall to her knees and sob on top of her niece's chest. "No!"

Sophie began to sob even harder. Rebekah allowed a lone tear run down her cheek, while Hayley remained at Elijah's side. Gwen shut her eyes and sighed as she tried to keep her tears in check, refusing to let them fall. Now was not the time to lose control. Elijah, Klaus and Kol looked depressed at having the ritual fail, but Marcel felt a pain like no other and it threatened to consume him. Marcel shot Klaus a look of hatred before he sped away with his supernatural speed. Klaus reached for Gwen's arm and gave it a squeeze, to which she nodded at before he disappeared after Marcel. Slowly, everyone left Sophie to her grief to grieve on their own. Hayley walked away with Elijah behind her, Rebekah left on her own and Gwen left with Kol by her side.

* * *

"Is it wrong to still feel happy that we're alive?" Gwen asked Kol. She sat on a bench near one of the parks in New Orleans with Kol sitting next to her. He had one arm around her shoulders and the other had its hand in both of Gwen's on her lap, both cocooned in their warm embrace as they enjoyed the silent area of the Quarter. "A young girl died to save this city."

"She saved you, so I can understand why you feel shitty about it," Kol said as he connected his forehead with Gwen's and stroked her arm with his hand that was around her shoulders. His eyes were focused on her, whereas Gwen's focused on her petite hands playing with Kol's larger one. "I _did_ believe it would work, even when I felt that something was off about it, but I was so focused on you that nothing else mattered."

"I don't blame you," Gwen said as she glanced up to smile at him. "I would have done the same."

"And to think that we could've asked Lilwen for help," he said as he reached up to finger Gwen's necklace.

Gwen shook her head. "She would have, if she could, but I think she's still dormant." Kol raised an eyebrow at her in question. "I've tried to reach out to her, but she seems to be asleep still."

"Oh, well," he whispered.

Gwen knew that he was bothered by something, and had an idea of what it was. She knew him well enough to know that a lack of teasing is a sign that Kol was not all right. "Kol?" She reached up and cupped his face in both of his hands, bringing his eyes to meet hers after they had strayed to her lap. She almost gasped at the intense emotions that danced in his eyes, but she only smiled at him. "I'm not leaving you anytime soon." He sighed and nodded, but she felt she needed to say more. "Kol, I promise you that I will _always_ come back to you, and I will never leave you of my own free will." She chose her words carefully, knowing that not all promises could be kept in their lives. She stroked his cheeks as he reached up with his free hand to place it over one of hers. "I love you, Kol Mikaelson."

"And I'll always find you." He smirked, and she knew that she had cheered him up, if only a bit. "And I also love you, Gwen Pierson."

Kol bent down and landed his lips against Gwen's, causing her to gasp in surprise at his sudden action. Not that it bothered her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, while his arms wrapped around her shoulder and waist. He poured all of his emotions into the passion-filled kiss and Gwen felt them all while also pouring her own feelings into the kiss. It wasn't a kiss that led anywhere; it was a simple and loving kiss that conveyed how much they meant to each other.

"I'm taking you to Paris for the holidays," Kol murmured against her lips.

Gwen grinned against his lips. "Are you giving me a choice?"

"I thought that giving you the benefit of saying your opinion was enough," he said as he pulled back and matched her grin. "But that doesn't change anything." She pecked his lips before tucking her head into the crook of his neck with their arms wrapped around one another, taking this peaceful moment as their small victory.

* * *

Unknown to everyone that had been present for the Harvest ritual, Rebekah's wondering of the whereabouts of the power Davina returned to the earth was of great importance. Kol's initial thoughts of the spell having felt wrong were correct, considering it had been hijacked by someone close to them and who was in the middle of it all. Sabine had taken advantage of the ritual for her own agenda that involved a vendetta against the Mikaelson family and everyone they loved. And it would all start with the resurrection of witches who were wronged by members of the Original family.

Bastianna Natale.

Papa Tunde.

Genevieve.

All three witches have been called forth by one Céleste Dubois.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Yay! Kol and Gwen are going away for the holidays, considering the timeline of the show jumped the holidays and they didn't make an episode for this, so I will try to make the holidays short so that we can get back on track with the show, but I also need this time because Gwen will be going through some trials that will change her for the better.**

 **Also, Gwen will soon be someone's love interest, but I must repeat that IT WILL NOT BE A LOVE TRIANGLE! Gwen loves Kol and Kol loves Gwen, and I find a love triangle pointless. If someone truly loves someone, then there is no one else that can have a spot on that person's heart in that way, so for those who ship Gwen and Kol do not worry, they are the OTP. I just want to spice things up a bit.**

 **Also, thoughts on the chapter and these news then ask away or comment, I'll be happy to answer any questions, so go ahead. I would also like to see if anyone can guess who this person that will be infatuated with Gwen will be; he's a character from the show, so guess away!**

 **Review, PLEASE!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hey, guys! Sorry I didn't update during the weekend. I was planning on posting on Sunday, but The Walking Dead's premiere had me on a roll. So, if you are a fan of the show, then you can all understand the emotional turmoil I went through in the last day, but I managed to find strength and post the chapter, which I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

* * *

"You can't be serious!" Rebekah hissed as she walked along the street with Gwen by her side, her presence carving a way through the crowds of people, which Gwen chalked up to Rebekah being an Original and it was somehow known to everyone around them. The youngest of the blondes simply sighed as the Original continued to rage about the news she just received. Hayley was only a step behind them with her own bags, considering they had all gone shopping and Gwen needed to get ready for Paris during winter; just because she was immortal, it did not mean she was indifferent to cold like a vampire. "How can you even think about leaving town at a time like this?"

"Kol wants a breather, and so do I," Gwen explained as she avoided meeting Rebekah's eyes, she already knew the blonde Original was glaring a whole in her head. "We'll be back in no time, but we kind of miss having a house to ourselves with no regards about how much noise we make."

Rebekah frowned in disgust. "Please, stop right there."

"I agree," said Hayley. "And I don't see why it would be wrong for her to have a few vacation days. It would give us some time to actually listen to the night life without the rituals of love making."

"I get it!" Rebekah scoffed at Hayley. "You're not helping."

"Rebekah," Gwen said as she stopped to face her rambling best friend. "I've been kidnapped, spelled and almost killed ever since I arrived, so I hope you can understand why I need to also take a breather from the webs of this city."

"Look at you using metaphors," Rebekah remarked as she smirked at Gwen, but then she turned back to frowning at her. "I still do not like you leaving for such a long time."

Gwen placed her free hand that was not carrying any bags on Rebekah's shoulder. "We're only leaving for the holidays, so we'll be back in less than two months after New Year's Eve." This did not abated Rebekah's worry at having to stay in New Orleans and be left alone without Gwen to help her deal with her brothers. "Look, I even have a surprise for you." Rebekah raised an eyebrow at this. "Kol and I have decided to look for a house here in New Orleans." Rebekah went to protest, given that she did not understand why they felt they needed to leave the Compound, but Gwen did not allow her to say anything. "We thought that we'd be more willing to stay longer, if we only have our personal space."

"Or a fortress for Kol to throw you in, so that he can be the dragon guarding you," said Hayley, smirking at Gwen. "I wouldn't have pegged him for being so protective."

"You have no idea," chuckled Gwen, along with Rebekah.

"I'll have a room?" asked Rebekah, her face blank and giving nothing away to the possibility of Kol and Gwen moving out of their family home.

Gwen nodded and then continued on her way with the other two women following. "Of course." Gwen glanced at Hayley. "Hayley and the baby can also have a room."

"Thanks," said Hayley. She hadn't thought about what would actually happen to her after she gave birth to her baby, but hearing Gwen talking about her staying with them gave her some form of relief that she'd have a place among them. "I feel like I will need it."

"Also, Gwen is an amazing cook," Rebekah said as her thoughts filled with the many foods that Gwen had cooked for her, which were few, but they had made a memorable impression on her and her stomach. "We'd have the best food available to us."

"I'm thinking pizza and a movie on Fridays," Gwen said thoughtfully. "I had days like those with my parents and sister, so I was thinking about doing something like that."

Hayley hummed. "I like it."

"I still don't like the need for you to move out of _your_ home." Rebekah pouted.

"She'll be right around the corner, Rebekah," Hayley reassured in Gwen's stead. "She's not leaving for forever." She then rubbed her protruded stomach, the bump almost invisible under her baggy dress. "Besides, we'll get to spend time getting things ready for the baby."

"And I promise to bring back presents," Gwen said as she stopped in front of an ice cream parlor and glanced at Hayley. "Any cravings?"

"Nope, but I sure need one," Hayley said as she entered the establishment with Gwen and Rebekah following behind her.

* * *

"Now, what, pray tell, is _that_?" Klaus asked as his widened eyes focused on the foreign object that sat on the coffee table in the living room of the Compound. He had no idea what to do with himself the longer he spent glaring at the object; he was afraid to even move from where he stood a good few feet away from the small item that Kol had deposited on the surface of their table. Being alive for centuries had not prepared him for the moment he was experiencing with his younger brother. "I am confused; I don't know what to do."

"It's not much of a predicament, Niklaus," Elijah said as he also exhumed discomfort from where he sat on the sofa close to the coffee table, strong enough to endure to be so close to the object of their attention. Like Klaus, he was not sure what to do with himself, but he managed to grasp the idea faster. "Though, I do have to agree with our brother, Kol." He shifted his gaze to his youngest brother, who sat opposite to him in an armchair. "I am perfectly confused by this."

Kol rolled his eyes at how incompetent his brothers were being at the moment. "It's not that much of a predicament." He sat up straighter and reached for the object. "You both _do_ know that it's…an engagement ring." He said this as slow as he could, treating his brothers as toddlers.

"We know what _it_ is," Klaus hissed as he crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at Kol. "What I'm trying to wrap my head around is the necessity for such an item."

"Well, it appears, Niklaus, that our little brother is becoming a man of his own," Elijah said as he stood to pour some drinks for himself and his brothers. "But, I do wonder, is a dowry supposed to be paid?"

Kol huffed as he closed the lid of the velvet box. "Our father was the savage Viking, not us."

"Then I am curious to know what you plan on doing?" Klaus asked with a playful grin adorning his lips. "How do you mean to ask for her hand, _if_ I allow it?"

"You won't find anyone better for her and you know it," Kol said, looking smug and proud with the argument he made for himself.

"Still, how will you ask?" Elijah wondered.

Kol took the drink Elijah offered to him, Klaus doing the same when he was also extended a drink. "What?"

"You _do_ know what comes next, right?" asked Elijah.

"Oh, you mean with popping the question?" Kol chuckled nervously and took a large sip of the bourbon, enjoying how it numbed his nerves, if only for a little bit to allow him to think straight and not worry about what would happen should things go wrong. The last thing he wanted to imagine was Gwen rejecting him, especially when he remembered that she no longer wanted the same things she wanted when she was alive. "Yeah, I have no idea on how to do that, which is why I need your help."

" _Our_ help?" asked Klaus, drink in hand with Elijah by his side.

"I need you to take care of the ring while I take Gwen away for the holidays," Kol said as he handed the velvet box to Elijah. "It'll give me enough time to plan at least a semi-decent way on how to propose. I refuse to propose to Gwen right after the death of a little girl whom she was fond of; I fear she might bite my head off." He looked to Klaus. "And I also need you to find me a house that Gwen will like. I'll send you pictures of the few that I've got my eye on."

Klaus pursed his lips and nodded, his mind already going through the many houses in New Orleans that Gwen might like. "Should be easy enough, so consider it my Christmas present for you both."

"I think that is the definition of an opportunist," said Elijah.

Klaus chuckled. "It's not my fault you feel obliged to give a present just because I am."

Kol cleared his throat, getting ready to admit to something he never thought he would ever have to. "She also has an uncanny ability to know when I'm lying or hiding something from her, which is why I need you to hide the ring, considering she plays dirty to get anything out of me."

"I would have gone on in life absolutely fine without that piece of information," Klaus groaned.

Elijah sighed. "I second that thought."

"Look, there's a lot going on for both her and me," said Kol. "I'd appreciate this."

"Yes, you're both looking for a house to relocate in," added Elijah. "I finally understand how parents feel when their children grow before their very eyes."

Kol laughed mirthlessly. "Elijah Mikaelson, the most hilarious comedian of New Orleans."

"I must say, I am rather surprised by your good taste in finery and such things." Klaus took the box from Elijah and inspected the ring. "It's simple, which will make Gwen happy, but also with a hint of sophistication." He looked up to Kol. "Well, you're well on your way on going from whipped boyfriend to enslaved husband."

"I think he'll mold into the role quite nicely," Elijah said as he extended his glass to offer a toast, his brothers' glasses meeting his own. "To our little brother."

"May he do right by the incredible woman he has by his side," said Klaus.

"Thanks." Kol nodded and they all took a sip of their glasses.

"Hello, boys!" Gwen greeted as she entered the living room, startling the brothers as they rushed to hide the small velvet box from her view while they coughed and gulped down their sips of their drinks. Gwen frowned at how they scrambled to hide Klaus a bit behind Elijah with Kol by his side. "Are you guys all right?"

"Never better, Cat," Klaus said, giving Gwen his best smile without giving too much, considering she could sniff out a conspiracy a mile away. "We're just discussing the few memorable places of Paris for you and Kol to visit, but we seem to have difficulty in agreeing."

Gwen nodded, still unsure of what to make of their strange behavior. "Okay," she said and shifted her gaze to Kol. "What time does our flight leave?"

"We need to be at the Louis Armstrong Airport tomorrow morning and we'll be in JFK around noon before our next flight, which is straight to Paris," Kol explained, having taken care of the route and planning their trip, which left Gwen to supervise their belongings. "Everything's taken care of, my darling."

"Why do I feel like you guys are hiding something?" Her eyes scanned over every single one of the Mikaelson brothers, but found the perfect poker faces on their features.

Rebekah entered the room with her ice cream that she had taken to-go. "That's because they are, and it seems like a rather juicy secret." This only got her glares from each and every one of her brothers, while her mind summarized that they had something in their hands that they wanted to keep secret. "Nik's smiling too much, Elijah seems too relaxed and Kol has a lack of witty remarks, so that can only mean one thing."

"Which is…?" Gwen asked as she looked to the other blonde, giving her back to Rebekah's brothers.

"Sweet Weny, that means…" Rebekah stopped in her train of thought when her shocked eyes landed on Klaus, who had brought the velvet box out and opened it to show her the ring; all the while waving at her to stop giving Gwen any ideas. Gwen frowned at Rebekah's shock-filled gaze and turned back to the men in the room, but found them how she last saw them. Rebekah cleared her throat and smiled at Gwen. "It means that they have some hidden agenda, which you will be spared of by going on your trip."

Gwen frowned at this. "You were just whining and moaning about me leaving a mere second ago."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," said Rebekah, grinning. "Now, why don't you go finish packing up, while I finish my ice cream and then I'll join you?"

"Sure," Gwen said with uncertainty, but decided not to press the subject, since she still had much to do before morning. She then turned to an uncharacteristically silent Kol. "We're still on for dinner tonight?"

Kol nodded. "I'll fetch you around seven." He waited for Gwen to leave the room and to hear her go behind their room's doors before he glared at Rebekah. "You almost ruined everything, you twit!"

"Is that an engagement ring?" Rebekah asked as she approached her brothers before snatching the ring from Klaus' hands, completely ignoring Kol and leaving her melting ice cream on the coffee table. "Bloody hell, it's beautiful!" Her jaw had practically dropped the moment her eyes landed on the small piece of jewelry inside the small box. Then, her thoughts went to somewhere else and looked at Kol. "Are you proposing to Gwen?"

"Now why must you assume that it's his?" Klaus asked, mocking his hurt.

Rebekah gave him an unimpressed look. "You can barely keep your therapist around and Elijah is too focused on dead lovers at the moment, so that leaves the _only_ couple that seems to actually be making things work."

"Why do I feel resentful?" Elijah asked sarcastically.

"I'm deeply hurt, sister," Klaus said with a hand over his undead heart.

Rebekah merely rolled her eyes at them before she turned back to Kol, her hands wrapped around the precious ring that was the center of attention. "When are you proposing? This means I'll be the maid of honor. Wait, you have no idea on how you're going to propose, don't you? I should do it; I can guarantee you she won't say no to me. Oh, I can picture the wedding now with lilies as the main flowers and the theme color can be a soft lilac."

"Her favorite color's blue like the ocean," Kol said as he snatched the box from Rebekah's hands before tossing it to Elijah, who caught it without a second thought. "I don't think purple will bode well with her. Besides, I'm not proposing until after we return from Paris and we have our house sorted out, which I will leave in Nik's capable hands, while Elijah watches over the ring."

Rebekah scowled at Kol. "Why the hell was I not taken into consideration to keep the ring safe?"

Kol raised an eyebrow at his sister. "Can you?"

"Well," Rebekah began with determination, but then _really_ thought about the situation. _If_ she were to somehow lose the ring by some miracle, then she'd have to deal with the full brunt of the blame falling on her. She didn't doubt that she would be able to take care of the ring, but she was not about to have it be thrown at her face in future disagreements, and so she opted for letting Elijah allow to shoulder such a burden. "Maybe it is best that Elijah watch over it."

"That's what I thought," Kol said smugly.

Rebekah then smirked at her brother and decided to poke fun. "So, any thoughts on how you plan to propose, darling brother?"

Kol blanched, and Klaus chuckled as he answered for his brother. "He has no idea."

"You're going out to dinner tonight, aren't you?" Rebekah began, deciding to aid her brother in his predicament. She honestly thought they would be lost without her. "Treat this night as if it was _the_ night." Kol raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, to which she huffed. "Act is if tonight you're going to propose to her and figure out how she would feel about it."

"How should he do that?" asked Elijah.

"I can't believe this," Rebekah laughed. "My brothers, the masters at manipulation and finding out a person's secrets, have no idea on how to handle a simple thing such as this?"

"Women are not simple, sister," said Klaus.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You're all idiots."

"I should not propose, but simply figure out her thoughts about marriage," Kol said, but it sounded a bit like a question.

"Exactly!" said Rebekah.

* * *

"So, where will you be taking me tonight?" Gwen asked as she fastened an earring to her left ear, having done the same with her right ear. Her jade-green eyes roamed over her stretch-knit mini dress that featured a surplice front and skirt, belted waist, and long sleeves. Black booties matched her dress. Her eyes greatly contrasted against the red-colored dress. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun that had its wayward bangs framing her face. "You've neglected to share."

"Why would I do that when I want to always surprise you?" Kol asked as he smirked her way, his predatory gaze starving for more than just gazing at her figure. He was always struck during moments like this, and he couldn't help but feel so extremely grateful. He was always known to either eat his date or leave them in the dust, but with Gwen it was completely different. There had been nothing special about what brought them together; he tried to kill her because he thought she was his former lover that had betrayed him when he was human. And yet, her appearance did nothing to hinder his advance or feelings for her. Not once did he see her as Jen, the name practically nonexistent in his and his siblings' minds, having been completely taken over by the warmth that was Gwen. "I like surprising you," he continued as he approached her from behind, her eyes viewing herself through the mirror of her vanity, "especially when I'm rewarded with a smile on your lips."

"Kol," she warned when she felt his hands rest on her hips and his lips connect with the smoothness of her neck. His hands roamed over her waist and hips, massaging her figure, whereas his lips massaged her neck. She almost moaned as his hands slowly turned her around to hoist her onto the vanity. "You said we had a reservation," she tried again, but only chuckled when his lips silenced her own.

"I think we can manage a quickie." He devilishly grinned against her lips as one of his hands began to dip into the skirt of her dress, bringing her leg up to his hip. The kiss had started out lazy, but grew firm and wanting. Gwen almost reached up to rip open his shirt, but opted to wrapping her arms around his neck and dug her fingers into his hair. "What do you think?" he asked as he pulled her into a more passionate kiss, knowing her weaknesses and how to wear her down.

Gwen, against all odds, managed to push herself away from him as she panted, but Kol immediately attached his face to her neck. "I don't think this is something I'll be saying more than a handful of times, but… _no_ ," she panted with a hand against Kol's chest, while he stared at her in amusement. "We'll have almost two months to ourselves, which will mostly consist of us sleeping in." She drew her lips into a thin line. "I'm also _very_ hungry."

"I know you're hungry," he said with a hoarse tone as he brought her into another passionate kiss, causing her to moan. His body was slowly electrifying, while hers was igniting on fire. "Come on, darling." He tried once more. He never once went forward without her giving him a sign of consent, always looking for it when it came to them making love or having sex. "We've yet to try out the vanity."

"Kol," she warned for the last time, deciding to give up if he insisted anymore.

"Fine," he sighed and straightened her on her feet. "I'll just have to fight through this difficult time."

"Oh, stop it," she said as she calmed her wild-beating heart. She almost reached for his hand to leave the room, but remembered she forgot her necklace in their bathroom after having taken it off for her shower to not get it wet. "I'll be right there; I just need to get my necklace."

Kol nodded. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

While Gwen left for their bathroom to retrieve her necklace, Kol picked up his jacket on his way out of their room and put it on. He quickly descended the stairs and was met by his siblings and Hayley. He frowned at their expectant looks when it clicked in his mind what they were waiting for. It did not help that it seemed that they had told Hayley about his plans.

"Yes, include more people," Kol huffed as he motioned to Hayley with a jerk of his hand.

"Where will you be taking her for the night?" asked Elijah.

Klaus coughed. "You still haven't asked for my blessing."

"Do not mess it up!" said Rebekah.

"Wine usually works with setting the mood, so go with that," supplied Hayley.

"Would you all just leave," Kol hissed. His patience was wearing thin, and it did not help that Gwen could walk in on them at any moment and start suspecting that something was wrong, which interfered with his plans. "She'll know something is up."

"What's up?" Gwen asked as she descended the stairs as she adjusted her black coat over her shoulders, standing next to Kol as she wondered why everyone was gathered in the courtyard. "Is there something going on?"

"No," said Rebekah. "We're, uh, wondering where Kol was taking you."

"He's been so excited about it," Hayley said as she helped Rebekah. "Pregnancy hormones get the better of me when I crave things that people say that are delicious. Being Pregnant bring the crazy out of you."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to ask anything else, chalking it up to Hayley being pregnant. "Okay." She looked to Kol. "We ready?"

"Yes, please," Kol said and grasped Gwen's arm to make a speedy exit.

"Good thinking with the pregnancy thing," Rebekah complimented to Hayley as they watched Gwen and Kol leave.

* * *

"Oh, Kol, this is just beautiful," Gwen breathed once more as she took a sip of her red wine. Her eyes roamed to every corner of the cozy restaurant _The Italian Barrel_ , a restaurant that Kol was sure that Gwen would love.

Kol knew her too well, her likes and her dislikes, as well as what she loved and hated. And one of the things that she simply loved was Italian food. It amazed him how much he knew about one woman. He loved how when she woke up she would take ten minutes to stretch and drop on the bed, and continued to do the same ritual until she finally deemed her body wakeful enough to get up, but then he'd ruin it by dragging her back to bed, which would start the cycle all over again. She would scrunch up her button nose when she didn't like something or when she was annoyed. She adored cooking, and her favorite hobby was scrapbooking anything she captured with her camera. She loved action movies and romance, which was a good combination for him, except for the fact that he loved watching horror movies that she despised, but she still watched them with him like he did when she wanted to watch a romance. They did things like these for each other, which were what solidified his resolve to marry this woman, if to make her happy and give her something that normal people did. He knew they didn't need to get married, but this was something he wanted to give her. He simply loved her, and it was heaven.

Kol shrugged as he stared at her from across their table, waiting for their main dishes to arrive. "I aim to please, my Darling Gwen."

Like Kol, Gwen picked up on many of Kol's traits. He was much more vicious before they got together, and still is, but his viciousness always somehow seemed to be justified. Any actions he did in Mystic Falls had been because he was either getting payback from when he was wronged, which was what happened when he beat Damon with a bat. And then there was the time he wreaked havoc in his fight to keep everyone from waking Silas, which he did to protect those he loved. She also noticed that he used to call her 'dear Gwen' when he despised her, 'darling' when he was calm or casual, 'my darling' when he felt possessive, and 'love' or 'Darling Gwen' when he felt their love or felt loving towards her. His eyes showed so much emotion that it was easy for her to read him; it was his best feature, in her opinion. She never cared how much taller he was, it made her feel safe in his arms that could encircle her more than once. His childish personality was in complete sync with her mature one. And _not once_ did she doubt his feelings for her. Like Klaus, when Kol said something that he was not known for, it meant that he was being true. She simply loved him, and it was indescribable.

"Here you are," the waiter tending to them said as he placed a plate of lasagna in front of Kol and a plate of gnocchi with meat sauce. "Will you require another bottle?" He motioned to the almost empty wine bottle that Gwen and Kol were sharing. "I could get you the wine menu."

"The same one would be just fine," said Kol as he finished pouring the last of the bottle in both his glass and Gwen's to allow the waiter to leave with it.

The middle-aged man that was their waiter took the empty bottle and nodded. "I'll return with your wine in a moment."

"Thank you," said Gwen before she dug into her food, but not before placing her napkin on her lap.

Kol took a bite of his food before he decided now was the best time to try to get an insight on Gwen's view of marriage, but decided to make it fun. "Darling?"

"Yes?" Gwen gulped down a bite and smiled at Kol. "What is it?"

Kol took a deep breath and decided to do the very opposite of everything his siblings told him to do. "What do you think about marriage?"

The question caught Gwen completely by surprise, which was why she was now coughing to push down the gnocchi she had taken to her mouth. "What?" Her voice was hoarse, finally having gotten the piece of food to go down with a big sip of wine. "What did you just say?"

"I was wondering what your thoughts on marriage are," he repeated, trying to gauge her reaction, but she was too unpredictable on topics such as this. "I've been thinking a lot about this, I just wanted to know how you felt about it."

Gwen's heart practically sighed. "Kol"—she smiled—"are you proposing?"

"No," he answered quickly, and waited for their waiter, who had brought their wine, to leave before he continued. "Not yet, at least." He sighed and reached across the table for one of her hands, which he grasped tightly. "I just want to do this for you and I wanted to know your thoughts about it."

"Kol, I don't need to be married," she said, wanting to get him to understand that she didn't need marriage to be happy, even though the thought was very appealing. She actually liked the thought of her and Kol exchanging vows and proclaiming their love for one another with a ring that would be the personification of their love. "Yes, I do like the thought about getting married, but I don't need it to be happy with you."

"Gwen, I am selfish when it comes to you, and anything that has to do with you," Kol began as he stroked Gwen's knuckles with his thumb. "Even when I was human, the thought of being married was expected of us, so I expected it in my human life, until I became what I am." It was true, Kol had thought of being happily married when he was human, but those dreams of having a life to share with a partner and have children went down the drain the moment his father drove his sword into his chest. That moment had shaken him and his siblings to the very core, marking them and defining what they would turn out to be. "I want us both to have something normal, something that we wanted when we were just humans, something that we both wanted and that we only saw as another step towards happiness." Gwen was completely taken aback by what Kol was saying, surprising her and shaking her to her very core. "I want us to have this and share it. Maybe we will feel different, maybe we won't, but I would very much love to take a moment of any day in the future to look at you in a white dress and vow to love you for the rest of eternity."

This was a blissful moment for both Kol and Gwen. When he had been turned into a vampire, any thought of having a family was stripped away from Kol's grasp—not that he fought to get it back. But now, now he had a chance to have everything he ever wanted; no longer was it to make his abusive father proud, not to make his mother proud with his magic, not to make Jen happy, not to keep up with the vow of his siblings, not to look for acceptance. He finally had someone to love, who would love him in return above else, and they were his home and heart. He finally could call something _his_. And Gwen, having lost her entire family in a splitting moment was when she had given up on building any sort of life. She had been dead, but she found hope in Klaus, but it was not enough, for he had only given her a purpose. Meeting Kol was a different story; it had given her a reason to live and to look for a future. Kol was her first love, and quickly came to be her only love. He became her reason to live.

Gwen's eyes watered a she chuckled, catching Kol's hand in both of her own. "Is this your proposal?"

"Nah," he said with a grin. "I'm saving that for later."

"Okay." Gwen nodded as she sniffled and took her hands back to wipe away any tears that had gathered in her eyes. "You should know that my answer will remain the same from now to when you decide to propose."

Kol grinned, completely happy to have gotten the very answer he wanted. "And what will it be?"

"Yes," she whispered, smiling.

* * *

 **End of chapter! ATTENTION: this was not THE proposal. It was Kol's mind going blank, and, instead of doing as he was told, decided to be direct and honest about his feelings, which we all know is something he is not used to. Until the ring is present, it is NOT a proposal, so you all still have to wait for it. This chapter was more about heading into the second half of the story and the drama that is ahead, so it's only to establish a few things.**

 **Also, loved the guesses of who will be the character to grow affections for Gwen, but I still have yet to see the RIGHT guess, but the ones that were mentioned had gone through my mind, they just didn't seem right, so I went with someone else. You can continue guessing and that person will receive a message telling them they were right and a little sneak peek.**

 **Remember to review your thoughts, Fave your love and Follow in likeness.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Hello, people! Sorry for having taken so long to update, but I was very sick during the last week and it was hard pushing the writer in me to write a good chapter. I'm still sick, but I'll push on through. I can't thank you guys for having stayed with me for so long and endure my craziness, but I hope you guys continue to do so.**

 **Also, I've decided to skip Gwen and Kol's vacation, but that doesn't mean that I won't write about moments of their vacation. It'll be more like flashbacks and such or I'll never get through with this season of the show.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

* * *

Kol laid back on his bed, enjoying the few moments he had before the sun's rays lit up the sky and his room in a variety of colors. This moment of the day was the one Kol enjoyed the most, when everything was still quiet form the night and it was almost the beginning of a new day, not knowing what would come during the day. It was a time when minds were blank and still rousing from slumber. And Kol could not be any happier than he was at that very moment as he looked down and smiled at Gwen's naked form curled up against his under the sheets. He still remembered with vivid detail every touch, kiss, moan and burst of emotions. He sighed at the image of a writhing Gwen above or beneath him, his arm that curled around her form tightening. Last night had been eventful; between pre-proposing to Gwen and taking her home to show her just how much he loved her, which had his siblings thinking that it was actually best to have a break from the only couple in the house.

Gwen moaned, shifting from unconsciousness to consciousness, to which Kol smiled at. "Good morning, my love."

"Good morning," Gwen sighed as she nuzzled her nose into his neck, seeking his warmth as she draped an arm over his chest, while his arm that was wrapped around her stroked her arm. Her eyes were still closed, but she was slowly awakening. "When do we have to start getting ready?"

Kol glanced at the clock on the nightstand of his side of the bed. "In an hour or two, I imagine."

"That is not an answer," she mumbled into his skin.

"An hour," he chuckled. He knew that her mind was already making a checklist of all the things that needed to be done by the time they had to leave for their flight. Then, a thought came to him as he calculated a very important decision that brought a smirk to his lips. "We've got time."

Gwen's eyes narrowed at this and looked up at Kol. "Seriously?"

She shrieked before she erupted in giggles when Kol shifted them with swift movements that had her pinned on her back with Kol on top. She laughed as he tickled her a bit, but the laughter died down the moment their lips met and Gwen knew they would not be ready in an hour. Kol pulled the sheet over them, keeping them snuggled up with no one or nothing but themselves.

* * *

Klaus stood by a window in the living room, his eyes more vibrant due to the light from outside as he watched New Orleans continue with its lively habits. Unlike many cities, New Orleans never slept; it was not always that someone would find it so silent. But, just like that morning, he found it quite silent, except for a saxophone that played a soft tune that drifted throughout the street. It unnerved him how the serene atmosphere seemed to make a good companion for Marcel and his grief. He wondered what his former ward was up to, but imagined he was drinking away his sorrows. His mind went to a most famous line… _like father, like son_.

"Good morning," Gwen said as she knocked on the doorway's arch, causing Klaus to turn to her with a grin. Her eyes narrowed on the drink he had in his hands and crossed her arms over her abdomen. "Really?"

"I believe it's the afternoon somewhere in the globe," he jested before he finished his drink in one gulp to placate her.

"You have to stop doing that too much in less than a few months," she said as she walked over to the sofa and sat down. "We can't have your baby girl seeing and copying this sort of behavior."

Klaus chuckled as he approached her and sat down next to her with a groan. "Aren't you supposed to be packing?"

"Already did, we'll be leaving soon," said Gwen, but she started to fidget with her hands on her lap. "It's a peaceful morning," she sighed as she tried to still her nerves. She never thought she'd be able to tell Klaus that she was proposed to be engaged, considering it wasn't something that had a word to describe it.

"Yes, which translates to you having something rather juicy to tell me," he teased as he smirked at her, draping an arm over her shoulder to apply even more pressure on her so she could spill on what she wanted to tell him. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

Gwen rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Compulsion doesn't work on me."

"Cat," Klaus sighed.

"Mouse," she returned. She released a mighty breath when she saw that Klaus wasn't budging, his eyes making her tell him what was bothering her. And she was short on time, considering she had to be downstairs in a few minutes to go catch her plane. "Kol proposed an engagement."

Klaus raised an eyebrow, having not expected that. "What?" He already knew Kol was proposing, but he expected Kol to actually propose, not do something that sounded _like_ a proposal.

"But don't tell anyone," she said as she grasped his left hand from his lap. "Promise me you won't, at least until a ring is involved, and an actual proposal."

"I promise," he said a little too quickly, to which Gwen frowned at. He was having an internal battle with wanting to pummel Kol into the ground for being an idiot and pretending to be surprised by the news that Gwen just gave him.

"Isn't there anything else you'd like to know?" she asked, surprised that he was not being stern or threatening to dagger Kol. "Aren't you going to threaten Kol with a dagger in an overprotective fit?"

Klaus, having realized his mistake, stood up and forced a glare on his features. "He is mistaken to think he can simply ask for your hand without my blessing," he began, not really having to pretend.

Gwen wore an unimpressed look on her face. "You already knew."

It was a statement, so Klaus deflated his supposed anger. "He came to me and asked for advice." If Klaus couldn't keep quiet that he knew about the engagement, maybe he could still steer her away from finding out that there was actually in fact a ring involved. Gwen snorted at his statement. "Hey! I know perfectly well the rules on how to woo a woman."

"Is that why there's a mob of women on the front door, dying to have you ' _woo'_ them?" Gwen teased, making air quotes with her hands when she said woo.

"We're going off topic," he said as he tried to avoid the teasing he practically walked into on his own. "Kol came to me and asked for advice on how to ask you to marry him." Klaus' eyes softened when they settled on her. He felt that time had gone by too fast for his liking; it wasn't so long ago that he had found a panicked Gwen in a hospital with her own corpse and those of her family surrounding her. It had been her decision to incinerate the bodies before giving them a proper burial in Oregon, and she seemed so young back then. "He'd be a fool to not propose." He breathed deep, knowing that it would be very difficult for him to say what was about to come out of his mouth. "He is a good partner for you." Gwen's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, but he silenced her by raising his hand. "I have not been the best companion in your years of being a ghost, but you were my moral compass and my dearest friend." He placed his hands on her shoulders while she smiled up at him. "No man will ever be good for you, but Kol is as close as any will get."

"That's as close to complementing our relationship you will ever get, right?" she asked, earning a grin from him.

He brought her into his arms and embraced her, his nose taking in her scent; it was going to be a long while before he would be able to smell her rich vanilla and spicy scent, which reminded him of a Christmas night at home. "Nothing but the best for you, Cat."

Gwen sighed as she wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thank you, Mouse." Klaus chuckled to himself, which caused Gwen to look to him curiously. "What?"

"This will be the first Mikaelson wedding of our generation," Klaus realized as he tried to find a moment in time when he or any of his siblings might've gotten married, but came up with nothing. "We've never celebrated a wedding, let alone think that we'd all agree that it was a good match."

Gwen gulped nervously, the thought of being the first Mikaelson bride causing Gwen to become nervous at the thought of something going wrong. "Let's just hope that the first time's the charm."

"So, who is Kol picking to be the best man?" asked Klaus.

* * *

"You have everything?" Rebekah asked Gwen as they stood in front of the Mikaelson home. Klaus was already in the driver's seat, waiting for Kol and Gwen to say their goodbyes to drive them to the airport. Kol hoisted one last bag into the back of the car before closing the door. "You'll call if you need everything, right? And we also need to coordinate on the presents, so I'll just send you a list of possible presents you can get me."

"Yes, _mother_ ," Gwen said before she hugged Rebekah. "We'll be back around the second week of January, so hold the fort until then." She sighed and squeezed Rebekah harder. "I forgive you for helping Marcel keep me kidnapped. Just know that we can let bygones be bygones, no need to stay hung up on old wounds, or so Nik says."

"It was long overdue," Rebekah said when she pulled back, both of them laughing. "I can't believe you'll be gone for _two_ months!"

Gwen chuckled. "It's not eternity."

"It feels like it," laughed Rebekah as she squeezed Gwen harder. "It's bad enough we skipped Halloween, but we're spending the last of the year apart."

"We have a thousand more, Bex," said Gwen.

Kol approached Elijah, who stood next to Rebekah. "You're all right, brother?"

"Was there any doubt?" Elijah responded, knowing that his youngest brother was talking about his engagement ring, which was locked away in a safe box in his room without a chance of becoming lost. "I'll look after things here with the witches in your absence."

"Try not to piss them off while we're away," said Kol before he turned to Rebekah, exchanging places with Gwen.

"Have a safe trip, Miss Gwen," said Elijah, but was interrupted by Klaus honking the horn of the car two times. "You'll be missed greatly," he said in reference to keeping Klaus in a moderate mood.

Gwen scrunched up her nose. "Are you ever going to stop with the 'Miss Gwen'?"

"I think it's appropriate," Elijah said as he took Gwen's hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss on her skin.

Gwen glanced at Hayley, who stood by the entrance of the Compound, before she looked back at Elijah. "She may have lied to you, but she already apologized." Elijah shifted his eyes to Hayley, earning a timid smile from the pregnant woman. He never wanted to make her feel shy around him, but his person was too conflicted to act at the moment. "Just think about it. We all do what we feel is right, even if it does not seem like it to others."

"Wise words, Miss Gwen," said Elijah.

Gwen nodded at him before she walked over to Hayley, offering the pregnant woman a small smile. "I hope you can survive the holidays."

"I survived this long," replied Hayley. "It's gonna be a bit lonely without you two here."

"I promise to send presents to cushion that loneliness," Gwen said, conflicted as to how she should depart with Hayley. They weren't close, but a friendship was forming, and yet it was still too fresh. "Maybe I'll get you a bean bag."

Hayley chuckled. "Yeah, so that I can't get up, right?"

"If there's anything you need, I'm a phone call away," said Gwen, to which Hayley nodded and watched Gwen walk back to Kol.

"Ready?" asked Kol.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah."

Elijah, Rebekah and Hayley stood on the edge of the sidewalk as they watched Kol open the backdoor for Gwen, waiting for her to climb in before he shut it behind her. He himself sat on the passenger's seat, his fingers darting to the radio. Klaus sighed at the station Kol selected as he started to drive away. Gwen simply waved and smiled at Elijah, Rebekah and Hayley, who all waved goodbye. Gwen sighed as she rested back on the seat and stared at the passing buildings and people. She already felt how much she would miss New Orleans, but she needed to get away for a while. Things had become hectic the minute Klaus had stepped into town, followed by his siblings. Besides, she had to deal with the fact that she was not as perturbed by Davina's death as she thought she would be. Then, she glanced at Klaus, remembering Kol's words about how it simply came down to her choosing the Mikaelsons over anyone else. It frightened her how little she cared for anyone else, but she found that as long as her family remained alive and well, she had no qualms about anything else.

* * *

 _Crespières, France_

* * *

"It's so good to be home," Gwen moaned as she dropped on her bed, her face pressed against the mattress with her hair forming a halo around her head. It was the bed that she had left behind to go to New Orleans with Kol. Although it was fluffier, she found she missed their bed in New Orleans. But the tranquility of the house was what she loved most. "I can't believe it's been months since we've been here. Time sure flies when you're immortal."

"You're taking notice of this now?" Kol asked as he shed his coat and draped it over the back of the chair of Gwen's vanity. He glanced outside the window of their room, the moon high in the sky with stars as its companions. It had been a long trip between the drive to Louis Armstrong Airport with a pouting Klaus to their flight to JFK, which was delayed for an hour. Gwen had been so exhausted from lack of sleep the previous night that she slept throughout the whole flight to Europe, which left Kol to entertain himself. "It feels nice to sleep without an impending doom looming over us for a while."

"I liked New Orleans," Gwen said as she turned on her side to watch Kol drop on the bed next to her. "It may not be an ideal place to live a peaceful life, but I liked it a lot."

"But you love France a little bit more, don't you?" Kol asked with his hands cushioning the back of his head, but his eyes stayed on Gwen.

Gwen shrugged. "A little bit." Then, she felt a little giddy when she about the events of the night before. "I can't believe we're _almost_ engaged."

"We're just missing the ring and a sappy moment," he replied, grunting when Gwen slapped his side. "I want it to be perfect, so don't expect a proposal during the holidays."

Gwen pouted. "We don't need it, we can just go get a ring and we're engaged."

"I want to do this right, my darling," Kol argued and released a sigh. He needed to make sure she didn't catch on to him and the ring he already had back in New Orleans. "I want to give you a human experience; we've got enough of the abnormal things in our daily lives." This need to do something human was not just for Gwen, Kol also wanted to have a moment in his undead life where he didn't have to think or worry about their status as supernatural beings and have a pure moment in their lives. "We'll be spending our immortal lives together with my family, so let's soak up as much normalcy as we can, because we won't be getting much of that."

"Let's hope you don't get tired of me," Gwen said, voicing one of her insecurities. She's always known that Kol had many conquests in the past and knows that some had known Kol better than others.

Kol, as if reading her mind, smiled and said, "You will have a hold over me that no other had before, my Darling Gwen. And there is no one I will want more as my wife than you."

"It's gonna take some getting used to the fact that we're semi-engaged, let alone being your wife." She then grinned before getting up to straddle herself on Kol's lap, while he watched her without moving a single muscle with smirk on his lips.

"Gwen Mikaelson," Kol breathed as he rolled over the name in his mind. "It's got a good ring to it." He stared up at Gwen, humming as a thought came to his mind. "We can stay, you know," Kol proposed, but went on to clarify, "here, I mean. We don't have to go back."

Gwen gave him a pointed look. "You and I both have a tendency to be right in the middle of chaos, which we seem to enjoy." She reached over to him and placed a hand on his chest. "I want to go back, it's where your family is, where my future in-laws are. But we can have a couple of months like this to ourselves; we kind of need these trips for the future."

Kol rolled them over, to which Gwen giggled at. "I'd like to go back to where we don't have to keep much quiet."

* * *

Birds chirped in the early morning as they gave lyrical sounds to the rising of the sun and the awakening residents that lived in the neighborhood. Kol groaned at this, finding the birds' chirping too irritating at such an early hour. He tried to at least ward off the light by draping an arm over his eyes, but the singing birds prevented him from going back to sleep. He rolled to his side, his eyes still closed as he sought Gwen's form to cuddle into. He smiled when his arms found her body and wrapped them around her with his mouth touching the back of her neck, but sniffed when her scent didn't add up to her usual aroma. He frowned when he heard her snickering, which meant he must've looked funny.

"What's so funny?" he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep, feeling Gwen shift in his arms to face him.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're hugging your girlfriend's a thousand times great-grandmother," giggled the smooth voice that Kol didn't recognize as Gwen's.

Kol's eyes snapped open at this and came to gaze into green eyes that were a shade too dark to be Gwen's eyes. "Bloody hell!" He jumped from the bed, knocking down the lamp on the nightstand on his side of the bed, which had Lilwen laughing hysterically. "What's going on? Where's Gwen?"

"Never pegged you for boxer briefs, but you always manage to surprise me," Lilwen purred as she rested on her front with a hand supporting her head on the bed. She chuckled again at the look Kol had on his face. "And here I thought I'd get a bit more beauty sleep, but you just had to be so damn loud." She snickered. "I was having a very good nap."

Kol's eyes remained wide and went to question her about Gwen's whereabouts, but he was interrupted by Gwen exiting their bathroom into their bedroom, her only piece of clothing being one of is shirts. "What's wrong?" Her eyes then followed Kol's to their bed, and she gasped when she found her own double with different shades of hair and eye color. "Lilwen?"

"Oh, sweetheart," Lilwen greeted her as she jumped out of the bed, Kol's eyes following Lilwen as she walked over to Gwen with her long, purple dress billowing behind her. "I've missed you so much!" She then hugged Gwen very tight with a bright smile.

"How are you here?" Gwen asked, a little uncomfortable to have her very great-grandmother hugging her form when she had nothing under Kol's shirt, but was thankful Lilwen's purple dress had many layers. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

Lilwen pulled back before Gwen could return the embrace, but kept her hands on Gwen's shoulders. "We have much to catch up on, so get dressed, I'll make breakfast."

Kol shook his head, not having a clue about what was happening. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Gwen replied as she walked over to her closet to put on some clothes. "Let's just try to figure out what's going on? I mean, I thought she'd need more time to get better, or so she said." She then eyed Kol's body. "Better get dressed before my great-something-grandma keeps ogling you."

Kol smirked. "Jealous?"

Gwen threw Kol's shirt that she had been wearing at him with a small laugh before she changed into a green summer dress. After changing clothes and bickering about Lilwen's appearance, Kol and Gwen went downstairs to find Lilwen placing plates filled with eggs in a basket on the dining table, wiping her hands on the apron she wrapped around her waist. The Original vampire and Immortal witch were still cautious as they sat down with their eyes still trained on Lilwen as she fetched them freshly squeezed oranges.

"Where did you get the food?" Kol asked. Neither he nor Gwen had gone grocery shopping, which only left the blood bags they left behind.

"I'm a Natural witch, and that means that I have enough power to teleport food from anywhere," Lilwen answered and returned to the table with their glasses filled with juice. "I believe it's time we got reacquainted."

"How are you here?" asked Gwen.

"When did you get here?" asked Kol.

"Well," Lilwen began with raised eyebrows, "I had to wait for you two to fall asleep after having some sexy time." Kol and Gwen blushed furiously, choking up on air at Lilwen's candid words. They did not expect her to be so bold, let alone wear a smirk on her lips. "Lighten up, we're adults here. If it makes you both feel any better, I never peeked when you guys got hot and bothered." She sighed heavily. "I remember those times with my husband; he was a real fireball in bed."

"Oh my," Gwen sighed as she fidgeted with her hands on her lap, while Kol averted his eyes from staring at Lilwen. It wasn't every day that the grandmother of your girlfriend spoke about being intimate. "That is something I never wanted to know about my grandma, I'll just call you that."

Lilwen's face scrunched up. "Nonsense, that makes me feel old." She hummed as they all started to eat their breakfast. "How about Meema, it's short and cute and peppy?"

"Sure," said Gwen. "Also, is there any reason for this sudden appearance?"

"First," Lilwen said and procured Gwen's necklace from her pocket before offering it to the younger witch. "You need to keep this close. It'll serve as a source of power and a place to store even power for the future. We can also communicate through it, no matter how far we are from one another." She pointed her finger at Gwen. "Don't lose it."

"Any other reasons?" asked Kol.

"Well, there are a few," Lilwen began, not knowing where to even begin as she stared at Gwen. "There's the issue with teaching you a few things, like being an actual Natural witch and the advantages of being one, so we're in for a long two months. It's also good that we're away from any distractions." She cleared her throat. "Also, I'll be leaving by the end of your trip."

Gwen and Kol frowned at this. "Why?" they both asked.

"I have a brother bury," said Lilwen, her eyes almost watering after the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry," whispered Gwen.

Lilwen shrugged. "My brother was always driven by his emotions, never knew how to separate them when the time needed it to be so." She gulped down a lump that had begun to form on her throat. "I felt him die and it was the most excruciating feeling I have ever felt in my entire life. I never thought I'd had to see him die, considering we were immortal and practically invincible, but he was so weak when it came to making the big decisions." She then remembered a distant time when Silas was small and used to look up to her, but was reckless and sensitive, something she lacked most of the time. "And yet, I loved him, more than I loved my parents. While he was like water, I was earth."

"I can relate," Gwen said, offering her sympathy as she also thought of her little sister. Kol also thought of his younger brother, Henrik, and how he had also lost his life when he was too young. But he kept that to himself. "There's nothing like losing your first friend."

"Yes," Lilwen sighed. "After offering my dear brother a funeral he deserves with our family, I will need to tie up some loose ends."

"'Loose ends'?" asked Kol.

"Thankfully, my old enemies have stayed dead, but it's not the same for their lingering spirits, so I'll have to find and seal them before they enter into the physical plane," Lilwen explained. "When I was awakened, so were they. My awakening weakened the seal I placed on them at the time of their deaths, sort of like a reset. I need to strengthen those seals, especially the one of my apprentice."

"You had an apprentice?" asked Gwen.

"I did, she was very good with magic," said Lilwen. "Her name was Lilith and she almost surpassed me, she was like a daughter to me."

"What happened?" Kol asked as she took a sip of his juice. "I don't think she was that good of a student, if you needed to seal her away."

"I had a few students, but she was my favorite," said Lilwen. "She grew too aggressive and downright dangerous, killing when she wanted without a care in the world. My family was almost victim to her maliciousness. When my children were still young, Lilith saw them as a threat. She got smart and thought of a spell that would grant her power when she would take the life of a witch, which was what she intended to do with my children, but I stopped her one fateful night that she snuck into my home. My husband was human, my children untrained, so that left me to protect my family. And I did, but I couldn't kill her. Call it maternal instincts, so that left the only option of stripping her from her physical body and then sealing her away in her homeland, never to return to this plane."

"You have your hands full," said Gwen. "Are you sure that you're up to this?"

"I am," Lilwen reassured. "I'm not the frail grandmother that bakes cookies."

"I'd hope not," said Gwen.

"Well, unto much happier news!" Lilwen said as she clapped her hands. Gwen and Kol shared a glance before they settled their eyes on Lilwen. "When's the wedding?"

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it, even if it felt like a filler chapter. I felt like it was a filler chapter, but it's a chapter that needed to happen for the future. Also, Lilwen's back! I want some feedback on her. She's not going to appear much in this season, but she has a lot of work to do before she makes another appearance and she'll be popping in every now and then. I like her a lot; she's like the crazy grandmother or aunt that has the power to backup her talk.**

 **Thoughts, guys? Review, Fave and Follow to your hearts content!**

 **See ya later!**


	25. Chapter 24

**Hey, guys! Here is another chapter for you all to enjoy during the weekend. Thankfully, I'm getting a bit better, and hopefully soon I will be in the all clear. I'm so excited for the second half of this season. And no one has yet to name the character that will be infatuated with Gwen, so it seems it will have to be a surprise for you guys when the time comes.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

* * *

 _Mystic Falls, Virginia_

Two Months Later

* * *

"I need to ask yet again, why are we here?" Gwen huffed in the passenger seat of the rented car. It was nighttime, which was a perfect time to make their way into the town that had only caused never-ending problems and headaches. Her eyes roamed over the familiar buildings of the town, remembering each moment she spent in it, which was mostly as a ghost and that was enough for her to dislike the town. Memories of her time as dead person seemed to have almost been forgotten with how much she enjoyed being alive. "I mean, why is it that this town has to always have to be the center of everything?"

"We're doing Lilwen a favor, darling," Kol said as he cruised around town, trying to get a feel of it after having been gone for almost a year. "She's dealing with the sealing of homicidal witches that want nothing more than to eradicate your family line. The least we could do is locate her brother and send her the ashes, especially after all that she did for us."

Gwen chuckled. "I still say it's too weird hearing you talk about her in such a positive way."

"She will be my in-law," Kol remarked and glanced at Gwen, smiling at her before turning back to the road. "I think I ought to warm up to her. And I must admit that she's a remarkable witch."

"Should I be jealous?" asked Gwen.

"I prefer the younger model," he said, to which Gwen laughed at.

"You're lucky I love you," Gwen said as she smiled out the window. "So, you have any cravings for revenge?"

"I've learned not to tempt fate when it comes to this atrocious town," Kol said as he thought back to when Jeremy had plunged the stake that ended his life into his chest. The memory sent a cold chill throughout his body. "I'd rather we just inflict minor pain for our troubles and be on our merry way."

"Good." Gwen smiled. "I want to keep you whole this time around."

Kol smiled at this and reached over with his right hand to place it on her jean-clad thigh, his thumb rubbing and sending electrical jolts that Gwen still did not get used to. They've been together for more than a year and she was still getting used to the feelings that brought out from within her. Gwen smiled and placed her hand over his, her fingers that were much smaller than his stroked his hand. She had been training relentlessly under Lilwen's tutelage, which left her magic more hardened and trained. Then, his mind went back to his last moment with Lilwen.

* * *

 _Kol kept busy as he folded a few clothing items and packed them into his traveling bag, something Gwen had asked him to do while she relaxed. It had been an exhausting two months and she was practically dead on her feet. He perked up when he heard the lyrical sounds that usually came from a guitar, so he stopped packing and approached the window of his bedroom to find Gwen sitting on a blanket playing her guitar in their backyard. It had been a while since he heard her play or sing, so he grinned as he watched her play the guitar and mouth a song he wasn't familiar with._

 _They had spent Thanksgiving in their home, spending it with Lilwen, but she forced them to have Christmas for themselves, even though Gwen wanted to stay and sped it as a family. They left for Belgium for Christmas. Gwen had fallen in love with Belgium's waffles and chocolate, which caused her to become sick on Christmas Eve, so they spent the night in their hotel. They returned to their home the next day to spend Christmas morning with Lilwen. That left New Year's Eve, which the three of them spent in the landscaped park of_ Champ de Mars _in Paris, counting the last seconds of the year in a crowd with a view of the_ Eiffel Tower _._

 _Obviously, not all the holidays had been spent in tranquility. Like every functioning couple, Kol and Gwen found themselves arguing every now and then with Kol's lack of enthusiasm to celebrate the holidays, finding no need for them, but enduring it for Gwen's sake. This mostly led to Kol leaving the house to vent his anger on any victim he'd feed of, but returned home to patch things up with Gwen. But the holidays were still spent in a merry mood._

" _She's come a long way." Kol heard Lilwen's voice and turned to find her leaning on the doorframe of his bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest. "The manifestation of the magic of Natural witches is much different than that of the traditional ones, so she's going to be a shock for many."_

" _I noticed," Kol said and turned back to watch Gwen._

 _Lilwen sighed. "She'll need you." Kol frowned and turned back to her. "Now more than ever."_

" _What do you mean?" asked Kol, fully turning his body to her._

" _She's practically an outcast, there will be no one like her in this world, except for me," Lilwen explained as she entered further into the room and sat on the edge of the Kol and Gwen's bed, her hands braced on the mattress. "Witches are born with this instinct to be part of a coven, and Gwen has managed to at least settle on a replacement for that." She gave Kol a pointed look, which he understood._

" _My family," he mumbled._

" _Exactly," said Lilwen. "Other witches will see her as a threat, especially the old ones. They'll classify her as an aberration of nature when_ _—_ _in reality_ _—_ _they should answer to her."_

 _Kol snorted. "Vampires don't do it either, so we'll be fine."_

" _I need you to promise me something, Kol," Lilwen said as she stood and approached him, her eye full of concern as she glanced at the figure of Gwen in the backyard. Kol nodded at her to continue. "Look after her. Be her knight in shining armor, be her friend, be her lover, be anything she needs you to be. I just need you to never leave her side, remind her that there are more important things in life than duty and what you are. I placed duty above my family and ended up losing one another, so I ask you not to meet the same fate."_

 _Kol nodded. "I swear on my life, I will always be by her side."_

" _Leave the rest for the vows, sweetheart," Lilwen joked, to which they both laughed at._

* * *

"Kol!"

"What?" Kol asked and glanced at Gwen, seeing worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I should be asking you that," she said as she stroked his right hand that was still on her lap. "You spaced out."

"Apologies, my darling," he said as he gripped her hand and brought it to his lips, offering her a smile to reassure her that everything was fine. "Just thinking about going back to New Orleans." Gwen eyed him suspiciously, but believed him. "What is it that you asked?"

"I was just thinking that the day that you semi-proposed was on the day of our first year anniversary," said Gwen. "We unconsciously celebrated it."

Kol chuckled, kissing her hand once more. "Good thing we both forgot."

"I'm not one of those girls that will blow things out of proportion when her boyfriend forgets a date," said Gwen. "I _will_ kill you if you forget birthdays, Valentine's Day, Christmas, New Year's Eve and the anniversary of our wedding."

"Most of those are holidays," said Kol.

"All the more difficult to forget," said Gwen.

"We've got Christmas and New Year's Eve marked," Kol said as he then stopped cruising around the town and headed to Klaus' mansion, which was supposed to be looked after, or so his brother said. "That leaves February, which cuts down two more dates; Valentine's Day and your birthday."

"The date of our wedding still in the unknown," Gwen remarked, but not out of spite. They had yet to agree on a date, especially with Rebekah naming herself as their wedding planner. None of them agreed on a wedding date, so Gwen decided to settle on one after Hayley had the baby, which left Rebekah pouting. "For the first time in my relationship with Rebekah, I'm actually afraid."

Kol laughed. "You find out now?"

"It's never bothered me before," said Gwen. "I've never been the center of it."

"You're getting a front-row seat," Kol chuckled.

"Don't remind me," said Gwen. "Speaking of dates, when is your birthday?" Kol raised an eyebrow at her as he entered the driveway of the mansion, frowning when he noticed a few lights turned on. "I can't believe I completely forgot about your birthday!"

"I don't have one, darling," he said as he put the car in park, his eyes still on the lights of the mansion. "Being a thousand years old sure rocked the calendars as tie passed, especially with Klaus daggering us."

"You don't have a birthday?" asked Gwen.

"Nope," Kol said as he turned off the car and exited the vehicle, giving little focus on their current conversation. He sped to her side and opened the door for her. He took her hand and helped her out of the car. "Why don't you give me one?"

"Sure," Gwen said as she glanced at the mansion. She frowned at the lights, but found no car in the driveway. "There isn't supposed to be anyone here, right?"

"I doubt the town's committee would throw us a warm welcoming party," Kol said as he took her hand in his and led her towards the house. "Might as well barge in, catch them off guard."

"Might as well," Gwen agreed as they stood on the front of the main entrance to the mansion.

Kol released Gwen's hand before he took a step back. He gathered himself before he lunched forward and kicked the front door open with Gwen standing behind him. They entered the mansion, listening for any sound, but found that opera music was being played from somewhere in the mansion. They entered the foyer, alert for any movement or sound. Gwen yelped when she saw Kol being shoved into a wall by a figure. She raised her hands to get the person off of Kol, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of another person in front of her.

"Apparently, we weren't the only ones feeling nostalgic," Rebekah said with a smirk. Gwen laughed before they embraced, while Kol shoved Klaus off of him before they also hugged one another, but much quicker than Gwen and Rebekah's. "What are you two doing here?" Rebekah asked as she pulled away from Gwen.

"What are _you_ two doing here?" Gwen shot in return in playful banter.

Rebekah raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her abdomen. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second," Gwen said with her hands on her hips.

"We're here visiting a dying friend," Klaus supplied as he and Kol approached the two blonde women. "It seems Katerina Petrova's time has finally come, I'm just here to make the passing go along faster."

"I needed a much needed break from the moping Marcel," Rebekah explained. "He has yet to lighten up. I understand Davina's passing was hard, but you'd think he'd at least get angry or something." She looked to Kol and then to Gwen. "Your turn."

"We're here because my very great-grandmother asked a favor of me," Gwen said very quickly as she smiled at them. "So, what do we do for dinner: go out, order food or get groceries to make dinner? You guys pick."

"What?" Rebekah and Klaus asked unanimously.

* * *

"We need to speed things up," said the accented voice that belonged to a Nadia Petrova into the phone she held to her right ear. It was early morning and she had spent most of the night in Mystic Falls Hospital in a panic while she endured her mother's close call with death, but she was confident that Katherine Pierce would not die of a mere heart attack. "Her time is running out and our window of opportunity is closing."

" _All right, but I need time to prepare,_ " said Nadia's associate, a Traveler witch that went by the name Mia. " _But you need to prepare her for this. It won't be easy and she needs to say the words perfectly, understood?_ "

"Yes," Nadia sighed, but worried her lip at the thought of their plan falling through. "Are there no more options, in case this fails?"

" _No_ ," said Mia before she hung up the call.

Nadia huffed in frustration as she stuffed her phone in the pocket of her jacket. She paced in the sidewalk at the Town Square. She had left Katherine in Stefan's hands at the Salvatore Boarding House. Her nerves were in high alert and thinking of possible solutions to save her mother's life. She did not spend her entire lifetime in search of her mother to allow her to die when she had just found her, let alone let her be defeated by something that should be solved with some vampire blood, but that was out of the question in their current predicament. She stilled when her enhanced hearing picked up on a familiar voice that was coming from two blonde women across the street.

" _Why is it that we were stuck on breakfast duty?_ " Rebekah's voice complained. Nadia looked around her and her eyes finally located the Original vampire that she recognized from having been with her and Matt Donovan during the summer.

" _Because I'm hungry and your brothers are too lazy to get us actual food,_ " Gwen said as she justified their trip. They were standing in front of a deli with four bags filled with one sandwich in each one. " _I know you guys can settle for a blood bag, but I need the deliciousness of human food._ "

" _Right, Gwen Pierson is too good for blood bags only,_ " Rebekah teased as she started to lead them back to her car. Nadia frowned at the name Rebekah used, recognizing, but unable to believe it. She had heard Rebekah mention her during their trip, saying she was a descendant of a very powerful witch, which gave her an idea. " _Let's go home; food's smell is making me hungrier._ "

" _I thought human food was too stuck up,_ " Gwen teased with a smirk as she got in the passenger side of the car, while Rebekah sat on the driver's seat.

Nadia's mind was already working on finding another solution to save her mother's life. She couldn't rely on just one option; she needed to have other options. Her mother was the only person she had left and she vowed to save her life above all else. And she didn't care if she had to make a deal with the devils themselves.

* * *

Kol hummed as he peeked into a brown bag. "Omelet sub?"

"That one's mine," Gwen said as she took the bag from his hands, handing him another one that had the sandwich he had wanted. They were both accompanied by Klaus and Rebekah at the dinner table in the dining room. Klaus had managed to procure some blood for them, which he poured into glasses. " _Bon appétit_." And she took a seat with Kol opposite to her, Klaus to her left and Rebekah to her right.

"People should be thankful for a meal like this," Rebekah remarked as she stared at her brothers pointedly, all of them having started eating their food, "especially when we went through the trouble of getting it."

"We didn't ask you to do so," said Klaus.

"And yet you both called saying you _did_ want us to do so," Gwen remarked, moaning at the taste of the cheese in her mouth. "I love food."

"So, your ancestor has joined the land of the living?" Klaus began as he locked eyes with Gwen. "When were you thinking of sharing that information?"

"Kol said not to say anything," Gwen said, too focused on her food to care about having thrown her significant other under the bus. Kol's eyes widened, trying to make contact with her own, but she purposely avoided them. "Sorry, I want to eat."

Klaus and Rebekah stared at Kol, their food forgotten as they found it more interesting to question their brother's intentions. "I can explain," Kol said as he placed his sandwich down, receiving no other sound from his siblings, so he took it as his cue to explain himself. "Lilwen stored herself into Gwen's necklace after she brought us both back to life. I told Gwen to keep it quiet, especially when there was a chance that someone could have used the power that necklace stored for their own gain and against us."

"It still would've been good to know," Rebekah said and returned to her food. "She looks like Gwen, right?"

"A much darker shade of my hair and darker green eyes," Gwen supplied as she wiped her hands with a tissue after having finished her sandwich before she leaned back against her seat in satisfaction. "I call her Meema."

"Where is she now?" asked Klaus, also going back to his food.

"Sealing away former pupils that have the potential of coming after us," Kol replied nonchalantly, to which Klaus shrugged.

"As long as she succeeds, we'll have no problem," said Klaus.

"I can't believe Katerina's dying," said Gwen. "I actually liked her."

"Yes, probably when she wasn't a backstabbing wench," Klaus growled.

"Says the man who'll do the stabbing," said Rebekah.

The doorbell rang, causing the three Originals and witch to frown at one another.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Gwen asked as she looked at the three Originals, who all shook their heads. She stood from her seat and walked towards the front door, her mind trying to figure out if she had been caught with Rebekah when they went to get breakfast by the gang of teenagers they all despised. She reached the door and pulled it open to come face-to-face with a young, beautiful woman. Her face was oval-shaped with fine bone structure, large almond-shaped brown eyes and brown hair that hung in curls. "Hello?" Gwen asked as she raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"Are you Gwen Pierson, descendant of Lilwen?" Nadia asked in a rush, and not a moment later did Kol appear behind Gwen after having heard Nadia question Gwen's identity.

"Who are you?" asked Kol.

"My name is Nadia and I need your help," she said, and Gwen noticed the desperation in the woman's voice. "My mother's dying and I need your help to save her."

"You're the street-rat that tagged along with me during the summer," Rebekah said as she appeared next to Kol, while Klaus remained in the background with his arms crossed over his chest. "What do you want and how do you know us?"

"Everyone knows who you are," Nadia said, which only serve to inflate the ego of the three Originals in the room. Her eyes then settled on Gwen. "I also know who you are. I did my research before I came into this town and decades before that."

"You're a vampire," Gwen realized.

"Not always," said Nadia.

"Why should we help you?" Kol said when he felt them going off topic. "You've interrupted our breakfast as a family."

"I'm just a daughter wanting to save her mother," Nadia pleaded and she knew that this was already getting Gwen to her side by the look she was receiving from the blonde witch. "I'll do anything, if you just come and take a look at her."

"Where is she?" Gwen asked, and this had Klaus rolling his eyes at how sensitive Gwen was. Kol thought the same, but kept his face stoic.

"She was taken to the boarding house that belongs to one of the founding families of this time, the Salvatore home," Nadia explained. And by the intrigued looks on their faces, she knew it was enough to get them interested into helping her.

"And who is your mother?" Klaus asked as he stepped forward, joining his siblings and Gwen at the doorstep of their front door.

Nadia gulped down and braced herself for the worst. "My name is Nadia Petrova, and my mother is Katerina Petrova."

* * *

"My, my, I've forgotten the amount of enemies your mother has made," Gwen said as she approached the Salvatore Boarding House with Kol and Nadia following behind her.

Nadia had convinced them to help her, even offered a plan by kidnapping Matt Donovan with Rebekah nearby to rescue him, but Klaus had gone his own way, refusing to help Katherine. They all got something out of helping Nadia. Kol and Gwen get payback and finish their business in town, and Rebekah had something to keep her entertained while getting some time with Matt. Also, this gave Gwen and Kol the opportunity they needed to find Silas' body, since he was killed by the people inside the boarding house and so they know his location. Gwen could've found his body with her magic, but she wanted to pay a visit to their former neighbors and have a small amount of revenge.

"Their talk is rather high and mighty for murderers," Kol said as he also listened to what they were all talking about.

"Time to make an entrance," Gwen said as she opened the front door, amazed at how they always left their house unlocked. While Kol and Gwen went to the living room where everyone's voices were coming from, Nadia went upstairs to check on her mother and to update her on her plan.

"Greetings, gents!" Kol announced as he stepped into the room with a broad smirk on his lips, while Gwen stood a bit behind him with a grin on her lips. They were amused at the shocked expressions on their faces, especially when they were all gathered and enjoying themselves. "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"Wow, you guys have grown a little bit," Gwen said as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. "New haircuts and different species all around coming together."

"We thought you were dead," Elena stuttered as she stood.

"And I thought I killed your brother," Gwen said as she looked to Jeremy. "And yet here he is among the living yet again." She stepped forward and passed them to reach for the bottle of booze that they were drinking from, noticing they already went through a few and halfway through the one in her hands. "It's so much better when you come back to life and get to enjoy the tastes of a fine drink." She returned to Kol and took a swig from the bottle before offering it to him, turning back to face the room of vampires, humans and witch. "Now, don't get your panties in a knot, we're not here to kill anyone." She frowned and turned to Kol. "Right?"

"I don't believe so, but I might change my mind," Kol said as he took a sip form the bottle.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked with a stern expression.

"First," Gwen began as she stared at each and every one of them, "I'd like to also toast to Katerina Petrova." She winked at Stefan. "A young woman who, after the tragedy of having her child ripped from her arms the very moment she gave birth, still managed to power through and crush every single bug of a person that came her way. I especially admired her work with all of you!"

"You actually pity her?" Caroline huffed.

"No, sweetie," Gwen said with a click of her tongue. "I respect her. You all whine like little girls, but I still see you all ruin almost the equal amount of lives that she has ruined."

Kol cleared his throat. "Never mind that, what about the thousand lives they destroyed when they killed me." Gwen nodded along with him. "You all took a father, a mother, a child, a sibling, a friend, or even a lover from someone without blinking an eye at the consequences." He snickered. "You see us as the villains, but we own up to the role. You lot are pitiful with actually believing yourselves as saviors of your own story when you're all the monsters of some else's life."

"Listen up!" Gwen raised her hands, using that familiar feeling of magic to have everyone take a seat against their will, be it on the couch, table or floor.

"Please, don't get up," Kol said as he sat on the edge of a table. "I'd hate to dirty my clothes with your dirty blood."

Gwen pointed at Caroline. "You owe Katherine for giving your life meaning, considering you would have ended up as the first pregnant bimbo of your class." She turned to Matt. "You still have no meaning around these people." She then shifted her gaze to Jeremy. "You're a presumptuous kid who is way in over his head. Just because you killed an Original once doesn't mean you'll be lucky enough to do something with that much greatness ever again." Kol whistled, enjoying himself with the feelings Gwen stirred in him with this show of power. Gwen continued with Stefan. "You're _always so good_ , and you're probably telling these people to show her a tiny bit of respect." She passed him and approached Damon, staring him down. "You were so traumatized and obsessed with her that you couldn't even settle for anyone else that wasn't her copy, except that she was more fun than the current one." She continued towards Bonnie. "You should rethink your group of friends, considering they are the very reason you and your family are continually sucked into everything these guys meddle in unnecessarily, which results in another plot for your family in the cemetery." Bonnie simply glared at her, but Gwen ignored her before she finally turned to Elena. "And your mere existence is the reason for all of the suffering in this town, but also your stupidity and jumping around in the beds of the same men." Gwen finished and took a deep breath before she exhaled. "That was fun!" She returned to Kol, smiling.

"I've missed this," said Kol.

Gwen turned back to everyone else in the room. "Where's Katherine, I need to see her?"

"Okay, Barbie Girl," Damon began as he stood form his spot. "You've made your speech, but there is no way in hell I'll let a dumb blonde like you ruin her death by saving her."

Damon was screaming as he fell on the floor after Kol sped over to him and snapped a bone in one of his legs. Everyone stood to help him, but Gwen simply flicked her wrist before they all dropped back down on their seats. Bonnie tried to focus on her magic, but found she was unable to do anything, which caused a frown to appear on her forehead.

"Don't hurt yourself trying too hard, Bonnie," Gwen advised. "My magic trumps yours by two thousand years, courtesy of my very great-grandmother."

Kol grasped the back of Damon's neck and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Talk to her like that again and I will not hesitate to disembowel your brother right in front of you. It'll also stain the rug."

"I'll find her later," Gwen said as she watched Damon's leg begin to heal with Kol shoving him into the floor. "Third item of discussion," she raised a finger at them, making sure she had their attention, "where can I find Silas' body?"

"Like we'd tell you," Damon said, groaning as he stood up.

Impatient, Gwen raised a hand towards Damon and focused on his heart, causing him to choke as he raised his hands to his chest. Green mist-like currents surrounded Gwen's hand with small jolts of green electricity, a manifestation of her magic. She opened her palm, as if she was holding a ball in her hand. She almost felt like she was holding Damon's heart in her hand, which she kind of was.

"What are you doing?" Elena almost shrieked.

Stefan went to help Damon, but was subdued with a punch to his face from Kol. The Original's punch was hard enough to send the youngest Salvatore into the floor with a broken jaw. Caroline lunged at Kol, but was easily thrown into the shelves of books, receiving a few cracked ribs.

"Will you all stop?" Kol chuckled in amusement. "I can keep this up all day, but I do get bored of these futile attempts."

"I have Damon's heart right in the palm of my hand," Gwen said as she tightened her fingers, squeezing Damon's heart. "If I don't get an answer in the next couple of seconds, you will watch this blue-eyed raven choke on his own blood while I squeeze his heart into nothing."

* * *

 **End of chapter! Wow, back in Mystic Falls and causing trouble for the heroes there. Obviously, neither Gwen nor Kol are gonna be happy with the gang of Mystic Falls, let alone be polite, so they opted for some chaos and rock their minds with their return and presence in the living world. This is them making it clear they are not to be messed with for a second time.**

 **Also, for anyone's information, I'm pro-Katherine. I know she's done horrible actions, but they come from a woman who has been traumatized and morphed into this person that sees anyone as a potential threat or a way to further extend her life. This is where Gwen's sympathy for the woman comes from, especially when her best friend is hunting her down for a problem that has been solved.**

 **Repeating here, no one has guessed who is gonna TRY to worm themselves between Gwen and Kol, so it will have to be a surprise. But, I will offer another hint: he gets furry once a month, so there is a major hint. Also, Gwen is a beautiful girl with more compassion than she lets on, so expect other characters to be drawn to her in the future.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed! Remember to review, they keep me going and posting faster!**

 **See ya later!**


	26. Chapter 25

**Hello, all! I apologize for not having posted in a while, but it's the end of the semester and I am swamped with work. Until the first week of December is up, I won't be able to post anything. Fear not, I am making it my mission to at least write chapters in advance to finish up the story for this season of the series.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

* * *

"I know that this is all very sudden, but what we want is very simple," Gwen said rather calmly as she still held Damon's heart in her hand, squeezing it in the green glow of her palm that projected his heart. Her eyes roamed over the forms of Stefan and Caroline that were still on the floor before they settled on Elena, Jeremy, Matt and Bonnie on the living area with Kol pacing around them to keep them in check. "It's only fair, considering the trouble you've all caused us."

"Go to hell," hissed Damon, but it turned into a yelp when Gwen squeezed her hand.

This action caused Elena to shoot up to her feet in desperation. "Stop it!"

"Not the answer I was looking for," Gwen sighed as she gazed at everyone. They had been there for five minutes in the same position and it was beginning to bother both the Original and Gwen. Deciding they needed more of an incentive to get them to talk, Gwen released her hold on Damon and watched him drop on his knees while coughing and clutching his shirt over her chest. Gwen then turned to Elena. "Let's focus on you then." Gwen did the same she did to Damon, but this time she held Elena in her enchantment, squeezing her hand and causing Elena to stumble and cough as she tried to fight the pressure around her heart. "Talk or I swear I will permanently kill the Petrova."

"Elena!" Jeremy yelled as he stood to aid his sister, but was thrown against the wall by Kol.

"I really want you guys to _really_ try." Kol smirked. "There's no point in killing you lot, if you don't put more enthusiasm in your actions."

"We buried him," Damon answered immediately.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Where?"

"In the woods," Damon said, and then nudged his head to a window in the room. "He's just a few miles south of here."

"Thank you." Gwen grinned before she dropped her hand and released Elena from her spell, to which the young brunette eagerly breathed to restore air into her cramped lungs. "I must confess that I didn't need you to tell me, considering I could've found him on my own, but it was sure fun to play with you guys." She then walked backwards and motioned for Kol to follow. "We'll pay Katerina a visit and be out of your hair in no time."

Kol bent over to the coffee table where the bottles of alcohol were and picked up an empty bottle, which he proceeded to break against the table. "For the hell of it," he said and grunted when he threw a shard of the broken bottle into Jeremy's shoulder, dangerously near his heart. Everyone gasped at this, scrambling to come up with anything to fight Kol, but coming up with nothing. "Consider this as us getting even,"—he shrugged—"or just the beginning." He approached Jeremy with a wicked grin, placing a hand on the groaning teen's shoulder, watching as the youth tried to get the shard out. "And now you must live with the impending possibility that I might be behind every corner you pass, wondering when I will finally decide to end my vengeance against you for having killed me." He chuckled. "And, this time, there's no White Oak Stake to protect you."

Kol stood straight and walked over to Gwen, both of them leaving the room to go to the dying Katherine in the second floor, while frantic vampires offered their blood to a wounded Jeremy and heal his wound.

* * *

"You're really dying," Gwen said from where she sat on the edge of the bed that Katherine rested on, while Nadia stood on the other side of the bed with her eyes intent on her mother. The room had been cloaked by Gwen to keep anyone from overhearing their conversation with a simple projection of her aura around the room.

"Took you long enough to figure it out," Katherine said in a hoarse voice as she rolled her eyes at the blonde witch's comment.

Gwen huffed, "How the hell did this happen?"

"A certain doe-eyed double of mine jammed the Cure into my throat," Katherine responded with bitterness dripping from her voice as she began to look over her hand for any accelerated aging. She groaned as she closed her eyes at the memory coming back to her. "And I was _so_ close to piercing her undead heart."

Kol snorted as he walked around the room, taking in Stefan's belongings. "I tried that, you're not the only one who got the wrong end of the stake."

"So," Katherine began as she gazed at Gwen, "does this mean that Klaus is around?"

"He's pouting," said Gwen. "He really wants you dead."

"This is just great," Katherine groaned.

"He's around, but don't worry about him right now," said Gwen. "We've got to see if you're salvageable."

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special," said Katherine.

"You'll give her your blood?" asked Nadia. "It's supposed to have healing properties, correct?"

Gwen nodded. "Yes."

Kol watched this with a sigh and knew he needed to speak up. He entertained the idea of coming here because he wanted to scare the living hell out of the resident supernatural beings of Mystic Falls for what they did to him, but it was time to get serious about what was going on with the ever elusive Katerina Petrova. He humored Nadia, but he had been around the witch community enough time to know that their visit to Katherine had been in vain.

Gwen frowned and noticed Kol's change in mood and looked to him. "What is it?"

"It won't work," said Kol, earning frowns from all three women in the room. He sighed and approached the end of the bed. "I never had the pleasure of actually meeting you, Katerina, but the trouble you stirred between my brothers was of great amusement for me in the years that came after, if only to have something to hold over Nik whenever he daggered me." He cleared his throat. "I would not be against saving your life, considering the trouble you can yet stir up for the fools downstairs, but you cannot be saved by Gwen's hand."

"Why?" Nadia asked before Gwen could voice the question herself.

"You ingested the Cure to vampirism, correct?" Kol said, beginning his explanation and continued at Katherine's nod. "It's a cure, something that is pure and meant to purify something that was tainted, and that is what just happened to you." He glanced at Gwen before looking back to Katherine, trying to gather his thoughts to explain things as simple as possible. "Gwen's blood is also a version of a cure, making it something that is also pure. There is no point in giving you her blood, because they are both the same thing and will make no change. The Cure was meant to cure vampirism, while Gwen's blood is meant to heal; they're almost the same."

"I think I understand," Katherine said as she sat up, struggling but managing it. "It would be like giving me wine to get rid of the whiskey already in my system."

"Exactly," said Kol, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Then we move to my plan," Nadia said before she left the room in a hurry, her steps taking her to a certain person that was a mere human in a room filled with people that were supernatural.

"I can see the similarities," Gwen teased. She reached for Katherine's hand and held it in both of hers. "I may not be able to save you, but I can relieve you of some of the pain." She closed her eyes and focused on the shivers that shot through Katherine's body every now and then, using her magic to dull the currents of pain when they reached their destination.

"Very kind of you," said Katherine as she sighed in relief, feeling the pain slowly lessen. "I just don't get why you're doing this."

"It's simple, really," Gwen said as she dropped the brunette's hand and opened her eyes to lock them on Katherine's. "We really wanted to kick some ass." Katherine chuckled, while Kol snorted. "But you also helped me avenge Kol's death, so the least I could do was try to prolong your life."

"You have a favor from me for that," Kol said, "if you live past today."

"Kol," Gwen scolded him.

"Calling it how I see it," Kol said as he lifted his hands in surrender.

Gwen shook her head at him. "You can be a little more sensible."

"He's a Mikaelson," Katherine breathed, finding it to be a bit of a struggle every once in a while, but she pushed herself to not allow her body to fail her. "They have a knack to be blunt with their words."

"I wish we could stay," Kol said as he approached Gwen and took her hand in his. He knew that if they stayed any longer, Gwen would be filled with enough sympathy to stay by Katherine's side until she died, and he was not looking forward to staying in town for longer than necessary. "But we have an ancient ancestor to dig up and turn to ash."

"All right," Gwen said, knowing that he was growing frustrated and eager to leave town. She stood from the bed and looked down at Katherine. "I'm rooting for you."

Katherine smiled at this. "Thank you."

Katherine watched as Kol tugged on Gwen's hand and led the blonde woman out of the room with haste. From what she gathered from Klaus and Elijah, she thought Kol would be a sadistic and vicious vampire, but he almost seemed calm, but she knew that Gwen had a lot to do with that. Katherine was a person who knew a lot about love and how it changed people and made them do things they never thought they would ever do in their lives. She perfectly saw the love that they had for one another by the shine in their eyes. She wished she had that at that very moment, especially with all of the many opportunities that she had in the past to have it, but destroyed those chances by prioritizing her own survival. And so, from the bottom of a secluded part of her heart, she wished Gwen and Kol a happy life, because their lives—especially one belonging to the Original family—was not going to be an easy one.

* * *

"Are we in the right place?" Gwen asked as she paced around a clearing in the woods that surrounded the Salvatore Boarding House, far enough from the building to not cross paths with the teenagers that were in search of their human friend; not that it was necessary, considering Rebekah was watching over him.

"Your magic hasn't failed, darling," Kol assured her as he knelt down on a patch of dirt that he noted that was disturbed. "We're in the right place." He sighed as he glanced at the shovel they brought with them, knowing it would fall on him to dig up Silas' corpse. "And I can imagine that the labor will fall on me." He went over to pick up the shovel, taking off his coat and handing it to her.

Gwen grinned at him. "Well, I hope I get to enjoy the view."

Kol chuckled as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. "I hope so." He approached her, placing his hands on her hips to move her closer to his front, a sultry smile on his lips. He hummed as he leaned down and touched her nose with his. "I aim to keep my darling satisfied, day _and_ night."

"We shouldn't be doing this," Gwen mumbled as she tried to keep her mind straight, but her hands that still held his coat reached up to his chest.

"Why?" he asked, placing his lips against her own. Her moan was enough to deepen the kiss and speed them over to a tree where he could place her against, not far from the clearing. Kol smirked at the noises he was causing her to make, shifting his lips to her neck. "We have yet to test how we would fair in the forest."

This was enough to snap Gwen out of the blissful place she found herself in. "I wouldn't mind, but there is a corpse a couple of feet away from us, which belongs to an ancestor of mine." She pushed Kol's face away from her face and had his forehead lean against hers, their eyes locking on one another, both hazy. "We can try it another time."

"To think of the fun we could've had," Kol said with a pout, but he smiled when Gwen giggled, the sound being music to his ears and all the more special when he's the cause of it. "We'll just have to settle for the bayou in the French Quarter."

Gwen's nose scrunched up in disgust. "I like a good mud bath in a spa, but I'd rather skip mosquitos and werewolves running about." She stood on her tiptoes and placed a meaningful but brief kiss to his lips. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can continue our fun."

"You're lucky I love you," he scoffed, but only playfully as he backed away from her and towards the shovel before he began to dig where Gwen had located Silas' body.

Gwen walked over to a log near where Kol was and sat down with his coat on her lap. She watched him, and she wasn't about to admit that out loud and inflate his ego more than it already was. She couldn't help it, though. His muscles tensed and it was doing things to her body that, if it wasn't for the body they were digging up, she would have jumped him and tore apart his clothes. Gwen loved being in his arms, they protected and loved her; they made her feel safe. They gave her warmth and a home. She crossed a leg over the other and decided to calm her thoughts, but they did not go unnoticed.

"Just wait until we get rid of him," Kol said and threw her a smirk over his shoulder. "I'll be sure to make those fantasies a reality."

"Hush, you," Gwen chuckled, but was not completely embarrassed at having been caught. "So, do you think we have a house when we go back?"

"I left Nik in charge of that," said Kol, grunting as he continued to search for Silas' body. "He said it was his Christmas present to us. I don't think Elijah was too pleased with being left out of the present."

"If I know Elijah, he'll try to get us something to rival Nik's," she said and laughed at the image.

"I don't think they can top what you sent them for Christmas," Kol said as he thought back to when he went Christmas shopping with Gwen in Paris.

* * *

 _Gwen frowned as she stared at the item in front of her. She was in one of many stores in a street in Paris, having almost walked half of the city and it was still noon. She had been having a rough time deciding what Christmas presents to get, and so far she had only nailed down Rebekah and Hayley. She had gotten Rebekah a stockpile of thirty shades of lipsticks, knowing that the blonde Original was a sucker for having a little bit of everything. She also got Hayley an aromatherapy diffuser to allow her to relax, and made sure to send in the card that it was safe to use during pregnancy. All that was left was Elijah and Klaus, considering she already had gotten a present for Kol and Lilwen. And she wanted to wrap the presents the minute they returned home. It was the beginning of the month and she needed to send the presents, so they get to New Orleans with enough time to spare._

" _There you bloody are," Kol said as he entered the packed store and approached Gwen, having seen her silhouette through the display window. "I lost you five stores back."_

" _You need to keep up," Gwen said off-handedly as she picked up a box set meant for sketching that had caught her eye for Klaus. "I think I found something for Mouse." She turned over the box and found that it had everything from graphite pencils to charcoal sticks, making it a satisfying gift for Gwen to give to Klaus. "All that is left is Elijah, which will be a challenge."_

" _If you had waited, I would have told you that I got him something," Kol said as he presented her with a bag that she had now noticed. "I got him a watch, which he better like."_

" _Thank you so much," Gwen exhaled, completely exhausted from having been running around the city for Christmas presents. "I was just about to lose my mind with so many people buying presents." She looked around the store she was in and was happy to find it was not as crowded as the other stores she had gone to. "I'm just glad we're done with this."_

 _Kol hummed as he reached up with his free hand to grab the back of Gwen's neck to bring her into a heated kiss that she eagerly responded to. He pulled away, still grinning. "Why don't you leave the Christmas shopping to me next year?" He kissed her forehead at her nod. "You're completely exhausted and haven't slept a wink between practicing with Lilwen and getting things ready for Christmas."_

" _I know," she sighed as she leaned her head on his chest, feeling his free hand wrap around her shoulders. "It's just that Christmas is my favorite holiday and I want it to be a happy day."_

" _Well," he began as he pulled her away and led her to the desk to pay for Klaus' gift. "Christmas is also the only holiday I can completely enjoy, so you can trust in me to make it perfect next year."_

" _Thank you," Gwen said as she leaned against his shoulder._

* * *

Kol smiled at the memory, remembering they had also patched things up after their argument during Thanksgiving by then. The day of Thanksgiving being a holiday Kol was not fond of and was always reluctant to celebrate. He shoveled dirt to the side, but froze when the shovel struck something that was much harder than the dirt around him. This caught Gwen's attention as she placed Kol's coat on the log and stood up to approach the generous hole Kol had made, glancing inside to find Kol dusting off dirt from a familiar face.

"Silas," Gwen sighed when she was met with the decaying face of Silas, which was the mere image of Stefan's. "How did he die?"

"Stab wound," Kol said as he surveyed the body without problem. "He was mortal at the time of death, so that means that he drank the Cure from Katerina."

"So, once the Cure leaves its host, the person decays depending on their age," Gwen summarized.

Kol nodded. "Seems to be like that from what Nadia told us."

"Let's get him out of there," Gwen said as she crouched to get closer to the body, almost gagging at the smell coming from Silas' body. "I can teleport his body to the mansion and deal with him there."

Kol moved away as much dirt as he could before hoisting himself out of the hole, glad to be away from the rotting corpse and the putrid smell that filled his enhanced nose. He groaned as he rubbed a hand on his nose, trying to will away the smell from his nose. Gwen scrunched up her nose, trying to breathe oxygen as little as possible, which made her miss the days when she was a ghost and didn't need to breathe. Gwen, crouched on the ground, raised her hands over the hole and Silas' body, and focused on her inner magic. Despite the smell, she took a deep breath and found a link to Silas' body. Her hands glowed green like before at the Salvatore Boarding House in the form of a mist and electrical currents that then covered Silas' body. Slowly but surely, Silas' body disappeared with the destination being the backyard of Klaus' mansion. The disappearance of the corpse had Kol breathing in relief when the smell was not as potent as when the body was present.

"There," Gwen whispered as she opened her eyes and stood up, the manifestation of her magic disappearing. She sighed heavily when she was hit with a wave of exhaustion that she was rather familiar with.

Kol saw her shoulders sag, so he asked, "Are you all right?"

Gwen glanced at him and offered him a small smile that did not reach her eyes. "We're done here," she said as she turned to fully face Kol, only to find him frowning at the trees. She followed his gaze, but found nothing. "What is it?"

"Someone's nearby," he said as he took his jacket and sped away in his supernatural speed.

Gwen huffed at this, but decided to follow, leaving the shovel behind, considering it belonged to the Salvatores and she had no intention of returning to their home. With supernatural speed that was not as fast as a vampire's, Gwen managed to catch up to Kol and found him pinning Caroline against a tree by her neck. The blonde vampire struggled in Kol's grip, trying to free herself with no progress being made. She frowned at this, but got even more confused when she saw that Caroline had disheveled hair and ragged clothing. She clearly had no shirt on, but covered herself up with her jacket. Suddenly, Gwen realized what had happened, to which she grinned.

"Scandalous sex in the woods," Gwen said as she approached them. "Apparently you were not the only one with the same thought, darlin'."

"Oh, the thought just turned sour," Kol said as he took a sniff at Caroline's neck, his face churning in disgust when he realized with who Caroline had been with. He retracted his hand from Caroline's neck as if she had burned him. Caroline coughed as she grasped her neck gently with a hand while using the other one to support her body against the tree she had been pinned against. "Why not take a good sniff, darling?" Kol said to Gwen, who frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, finding it weird that she had to smell Caroline. She knew that supernatural beings with heightened senses used this advantage many times, but she never found the appeal in doing so with the fact that she was a witch and could do a much better job with her magic.

Kol nodded at her encouragingly, but a smirk dominated his features. "Do it, you'll regret it if you don't."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him before she turned back to Caroline, who found the ground more interesting than anything else. This alone spiked Gwen's interest as she focused on her sense of smell. Denial was the first thing that swept over Gwen as she tried to pinpoint the scent that dominated Caroline, but there was no mistaking it and it was enough to have Gwen walk over to Caroline and launch her tight fist into the young vampire's face.

"What the hell?" Caroline screeched as she reached up to place her hand on her left cheek and it almost felt like Gwen had broken her jaw. "What is your problem?"

"You!" Gwen yelled, her mind running too fast for her to calm down. The only thing she was sure of was that Klaus had slept with Caroline and her instincts told her to protect her best friend from being heartbroken by a teenaged girl that had a tendency of switching boyfriends in a blink of an eye. "I don't care if this is a one-time thing, because it is and I will damn well make sure it stays that way!"

"Riled up?" Kol asked, grinning to himself as he watched Gwen go off on a wide-eyed Caroline.

"Oh, you have no idea," she said as she stole a glance at Kol before focusing on Caroline. "Listen here, Barbie." Caroline frowned at her, but remained quiet when Gwen pointed a threatening finger at her. "I would love nothing more than to have Klaus be happy, which entails getting him a girlfriend, but I want him with a _woman_ , not some teenager that is never sure about her feelings and messes everything up by second-guessing herself. The role of being Klaus' girlfriend has many positions, which include: putting him in his place, understanding him and his mood swings, stand by him, loving his family even when they want to kill you, loving his daughter that will be with us soon enough, being his friend and shoulder to lean on, and beat the crap out of him when he needs it." She took a deep breath and lowered her hand to her side. "You have not a single one of those things, so you are not a good candidate for my best friend." She then stepped closer to Caroline, a hair away from her face. "So to emphasize and make sure you got the message, stay away from Klaus or I will disembowel you."

"Darling, the things you do to me," Kol said with a grin when goosebumps appeared over his skin. Watching his girlfriend threatening Caroline was a most amusing thing to him and he enjoyed it. "I can't wait to see what you'll do to Nik."

Gwen turned to Kol. "Just you wait, 'cause I am far from done." She turned back to Caroline with a stern expression. "I would have liked for you to make Nik the happiest man in the world; I even thought for a moment that we could have been friends. But I will not tolerate a _girl_. So until you kill that child and become a woman"—Gwen waved her hand that glowed green over Caroline, marking her words with a spell—"you will forever be a mere ten feet away from Nik."

"What?" Caroline asked, finding the thought ridiculous. "What makes you his keeper?" Kol raised an amused eyebrow at the vampire's outburst with his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't think he needs you to babysit him, especially when I seem to be special to him."

Kol snorted. "Please, refrain from the flattery, dear." He approached Caroline. "My brother may have a strange pull towards you, but his mind and heart will always settle on those who are loyal to him, or his family." He gave Caroline a careless onceover. "You were a mere screw to satisfy an itch."

Gwen noticed the hurt that flashed across Caroline's eyes, but the young vampire steeled herself with a shake of her head. Gwen didn't like doing this and found Kol's words to be cruel, but she didn't want Klaus spiraling out of control because of teenager that was still indecisive of her life. Still, her role as Klaus' closest friend forced her to protect him. Her spell will dictate whether Caroline is right for Klaus or not, but only with time and patience, which they had in abundance.

"Good day, Caroline," Gwen said finally, deciding she had said enough. She turned around and began her return to Klaus' mansion with Kol following her.

* * *

Gwen sighed as she leaned into Kol's side, his arm wrapped round her shoulders to keep her snug into his side. It was nighttime and she was tired and ready to put the remainder of the day behind her, but she still had two more things to deal with. Kol, like many other times, refrained from intervening in Gwen's confrontation with Caroline. He was protective of her, but he also understood that she could take care of herself, even when his very being urged him to lock her away from the world and keep her away from harm.

"My feet hurt," Gwen whined as they approached the front door of Klaus' mansion. "Why didn't we take the car?"

"You're an Immortal, and yet you lack the amount of stamina that vampires have but it's a lot more than a human's," he murmured, but it was more to himself.

"I just want my bed," she said as she reached for the doorknob and opened the door to step inside with Kol standing behind her.

Their quiet entrance was broken by the yelling of a familiar hybrid.

"Gwen!" Klaus raged as he entered the lobby, stomping over to where she stood with rage in his eyes. "Why the bloody hell is there a corpse in my backyard? The stench has spread throughout the whole vicinity!" Having realized who he was, Gwen's eyes grew determined when she remembered one of the things she still had to deal with before the day was up. Kol noticed her posture and watched her as she calmly walked over to Klaus, already knowing what was about to happen. "I want an explanation!"

Klaus' rant ceased the second that Gwen's palm collided against his cheek. "You are a man-slut!" he raged. "What were you thinking when you slept with that bimbo?" Klaus was dumbfounded by her outburst as he held his reddened cheek with his hand as he stared down at Gwen. "You have a child on the way, so you need focus on that and put behind any romantic involvements until we make sure that child is safe and sound."

"I don't need to explain myself to you," argued Klaus.

"Shut up!" Gwen interrupted him. Her exhaustion from jetlag, having little sleep, dealing with the supernatural community of Mystic Falls and digging up Silas had taken a toll on her. Her body was running on fumes and it was starting to make an effect on her. It didn't help the little time she actually had to relax during her supposed vacation during the holidays.

"Darling?" Kol said, trying to get her attention.

Gwen ignored Kol, deciding to channel her frustration on Klaus. "I want you happy, but I refuse to accept some shallow and neurotic girl with no sense of priorities," she continued to rant; the need to let out some steam was too great after having bottled up her stress during the holidays with her lessons with Lilwen. Kol noticed her swaying and grew worried. "I am so mad at you, right now…" Her voice lost its volume as it lowered to a mumbling.

"Gwen!" Kol yelled as he watched her lose her footing and fall backwards, but he had her in his arms before her body crashed on the floor. He kneeled on the floor with her in his arms. Klaus knelt in front of him as Kol supported Gwen's back with one hand that kept her against his chest, while his other hand reached up to touch her cheek.

* * *

Kol sighed as he stared at Gwen's peaceful face from his seat on the edge of the bed after having tucked her in his bed that Klaus had given to him after his dagger was removed. It felt like it was a lifetime ago, but it was only around a year ago that is happened. He had woken up with nothing but the clothes he had on and a century to catch up on, alone and an outcast from his family as always, but it had been different. He met Gwen in that very mansion and had intended to kill her upon their meeting, but he took her with him and grew close to her. Her personality made it so easy for him to forget that she had Jen's face, not once having searched for similarities. Gwen was too warm and her presence demanded character, which was unlike Jen's ability to slither herself into any situation without much effort.

Kol smiled as he reached for Gwen's cheek and stroked her skin as she breathed deep. He had taken her out of her clothes and put her in one of his shirts, which he knew that she loved to wear before wrapping her in the sheets. He knew she had pushed herself too much with her training with Lilwen, but let her be, but he decided that she needed to rest more before doing anything too strenuous. He leaned in and placed his lips on her forehead before pulling away.

"Care to explain why I needed to turn a corpse into ash?" Klaus asked as he entered the room with an urn in his hands. He went over to the nightstand that was on the vacant side of the bed and placed the vase there. "I also heard that you caused quite the scandal when you visited our dearest friends at the Salvatores' home."

Kol snorted, his eyes still trained on Gwen. "It's what Lilwen asked us to do." He glanced at Klaus. "It was Silas, her brother. She wanted his ashes to give him a proper burial." He took his hand from Gwen's cheek to poke away stray blonde hair from Gwen's face. "It's the least we could do after what she did for us by bringing us back to life." He raised an eyebrow at Klaus. "Where's Rebekah?"

"In town, I suppose," Klaus said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I imagine she must be enjoying herself before we head back."

"By spending time with a mere jock," Kol scoffed.

"What happened to her?" Klaus asked as he motioned to Gwen.

"She's completely and utterly exhausted," Kol explained. "Lilwen trained her day and night on how to use their type of magic, leaving little time for Gwen to relax." He sighed heavily. "She was so determined to prove herself that she pushed herself too much and gave herself little time to take a breather." He remembered the hard lessons and spells that Lilwen had Gwen perform. "We had a few arguments about that and she was also stressed about the holidays, so we've decided to let me deal with them this year."

"Good." Klaus hummed as he thought this over. "I apologize."

Kol frowned at him. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I should have tried to bring you back, but I was so comfortable with the fact that I could do so at any moment that I didn't make it a priority, even when I saw how much it hurt Gwen."

"Clean slate, Nik," Kol reminded him. "Her life was saved back in New Orleans, so I keep my word." He grinned at Klaus. "We're good, brother."

"Watching you burn and hearing your screams was something I don't ever want to witness ever again," Klaus confessed as he reached for one of Gwen's hands, squeezing it as she stirred a bit before she settled on her back with her head tilted towards Kol. "I never want to hear those unbearable screams that I never knew Gwen could make. I could actually _feel_ her heart breaking."

"Let's try not to let that happen ever again," Kol said with determination as he moved to rest against the headboard of the bed with Gwen instinctively scooting closer to him with one hand still held by Klaus. Kol stared hard at Gwen with a frown. "It's impossible how much I love her, Nik." He gulped down and looked up at Klaus. "I love her and I don't say it enough. It's too overwhelming to put into words."

"I know the feeling, little brother," Klaus said as he thought of a distant memory of his human days. "You best hold onto it; it's a rare thing."

"I'm afraid for her," Kol explained to his confused brother. "Our family has a tendency of losing everything we love, we tend to destroy."

"Not this time," Klaus said with finality. "Not with my child, either."

Kol nodded, and then asked, "The ring?"

"It's safe with Elijah," Klaus said as he placed Gwen's hand on her chest before standing up and taking the urn. "I'll be heading back to New Orleans first thing in the morning."

"We need to send the ashes to Lilwen before we go back," Kol explained.

"I'll put them in the hidden safe in the living room," Klaus said as he pointed to the urn and began to walk out of the room. "I'll send you the code in the morning."

"Goodnight," Kol said as Klaus closed the door to the bedroom behind him. Kol turned on his side, facing Gwen just as she turned to snuggled her front to his own, and her hand took a fistful of his shirt. Kol chuckled lowly at this as he wrapped his arms around her to bring her deeper into his chest with his nose inhaling the rich vanilla scent of her hair.

"Kol," Gwen breathed as she hid her face in his neck.

"I'm in love with you, Gwen Pierson," Kol whispered with his lips against her temple as he stroked her back. "And I can't wait for the day that I get to call you _Gwen Mikaelson_."

* * *

 **End of chapter! So we're at the end of our visit to Mystic Falls. It wasn't much, but I wanted to show how Gwen still feels about the town and its residents. I hope you've all enjoyed. And so far, there's only been one person who guessed who will be infatuated with Gwen. That person will receive the prize soon enough. People still have the chance to guess, if you want, or you can wait for when the chapter comes out.**

 **Now, remember to review! They push me to write and give you all what you want.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

 **See ya later!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Hey, guys! Finally finished the semester, except for a few exams that I still have to study for, but after Monday next week I am a free woman! So here is yet another chapter for you guys to enjoy! This will be the last chapter that will be spent in New Orleans, which turned out very long, but things needed to be in this chapter.**

 **Also, very important, I love but not love Klaus and Caroline. I shipped it a lot some time ago, but re-watching the episodes they spent together made me see that I cannot ship something that has yet to have anything concrete or that it will have a future. I don't like bashing on Caroline (I may not love her, but I like her), I am only portraying Gwen's feelings about Caroline. Also, I honestly think that Caroline needs to mature a bit more before being with Klaus 'cause that relationship cannot be brought down because of Caroline's ongoing insecurities and indecisiveness; it's not wrong to have them, but not ALL of the time. So don't think I like bashing on her.**

 **Okay, end of rant, I own nothing belonging to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

* * *

Light streamed through the curtains that covered the window. It was late morning and the day was just beginning. The light fell on the fair face that belonged to Gwen Pierson as she began to stir, waking up from her extended sleep. She sighed deeply as her eyes fluttered open. She smiled as she looked around the room, recognizing it to be Kol's room from Klaus' mansion in Mystic Falls. Her smile turned downwards when she noticed she was alone before she remembered that she had fainted the night before when she was scolding Klaus. She groaned at the memory as she sat up, which was when she first noticed that she only wore her underwear and one of Kol's shirts. Her head spun for a moment, and she realized it was just the exhaustion leaving her. She pushed the sheet off of her before she stepped out of the bed, a shiver going up her spine from her feet meeting the cold floor.

Gwen walked out of the room and was immediately assaulted with the smell of breakfast being cooked. She went down the hall and then proceeded to walk down the stairs to reach the first floor, and then continued her journey to the kitchen. She smiled at what she found: Kol standing in front of the stove and stacking pancakes on a plate. It was an amusing sight, considering that Gwen was the one who cooked.

"You look good enough to eat," Gwen teased, prompting Kol to turn away from the stove with a sly grin on his lips.

"I've had my fair share," Kol teased in return and went over to Gwen, but not before turning the stove off. "And I've yet to be disappointed."

Gwen chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good, 'because I've yet to be disappointed."

They both laughed with their hands wrapped around one another. Kol calmed his laughter as he stared down at her, her jade-green eyes staring up into his brown ones. He raised a hand and placed it on her left cheek before leaning down to place his lips on her own. Gwen sighed against his lips as he brought her closer to his front with his left hand. The kiss was slow but full of passion. Gwen raised her arms to loop them around his neck and deepen the kiss some. Kol smirked before he pulled away to place his forehead against hers.

"Good morning," he whispered, his eyes locked on hers.

"It would have been better to have you in bed, but," she said and glanced at the pancakes he made, "I'll settle for this."

Gwen walked around him and went over to the plate with the stacked pancakes, picking up the maple syrup on the way before going to the already set dining table. Kol went to the fridge and got the orange juice with a couple of cups before he joined Gwen at the dining table. They both took their seats before taking a pancake to their plates.

"What happened last night?" Gwen asked after she ate her first pancake. "I remember yelling at Nik, but everything gets hazy as I try to remember the argument."

Kol laughed as he remembered Klaus' face at having been yelled at by Gwen. "It was a rather amusing thing to watch." Gwen raised an eyebrow for further explanation. "You screamed and scolded Nik as if he was a child, and his face betrayed no emotion at not having a single idea on what to do with you." Kol laughed at the image that wormed its way into the forefront of his mind once more. "He looked so much like a bloody deer caught in headlights."

"Hilarious," Gwen said with a sarcastic smile. "Where is he?" she asked with a frown. "And where is Rebekah?"

"They're probably already in New Orleans," Kol explained as he went for his third pancake. "They seemed to be in a hurry to leave this town."

Gwen huffed. "Can you blame them?" She took a sip of her juice. "This town brings us no luck the longer we stay in it."

"Which is why we should also make ourselves scarce before anything happens…again," said Kol.

"We need to burn Silas' body," Gwen reminded him.

"Already done," said Kol.

"Send the ashes to Lilwen's location," she added.

Kol nodded. "I have a spell you can try to send the ashes to wherever she is."

"Things packed?" she asked.

"At dawn," said Kol.

Gwen grinned at him. "Plane tickets?"

"First class at the Lynchburg Regional Airport," replied Kol. "We'd be in New Orleans in four hours."

"You're getting better at this," Gwen said, proud of how Kol had managed to do everything, considering how lazy he tended to be, which almost always left him to deal with booking the plane rides and where they would be staying.

Kol shrugged as he dropped his utensils and slumped back against his chair. "I have a girlfriend with a need to have everything ready and perfect and on time."

"I'll try to ease up on that," Gwen said sheepishly as she continued to eat.

"Please do," Kol chuckled. He clapped his hands and stood up. "You finish up here and I'll get everything ready for the spell." He walked over to her and placed a kiss on top of her golden head. "The sooner we're done here, the better. This town has me on edge."

Gwen nodded along, but her focus was mainly on the pancakes Kol had cooked for them. She failed to notice that he had left the room, too focused on the delicious pancakes that she was hungry for. Unlike Kol, she didn't stop on her third and continued to eat one more. She had a mind to have Kol start cooking their breakfasts, especially since they now would have to in their new house because Klaus always had people doing everything in his home that it usually left her with no chores to do; doing chores was something she enjoyed, since it kept her mind busy and gave her something to do.

* * *

Gwen grunted when she placed Kol's suitcase near the front door. She was relieved when she had listened to Kol's advice when he said that it would be best to send most of their things from their trip to Paris directly to New Orleans and only one bag for each for their stop in Mystic Falls. She was itching to leave the town because, like Kol, it gave her a weird vibe to stay for too long.

"You all right, darling?" Kol asked as he lowered her bag next to his own, his eyes expressing his concern. "The spell wasn't too taxing, was it?"

"I'm fine, Kol," she said with a small smile. He had been hovering ever since she had finished the spell that was similar to sending a message, but instead sending an object. She agreed with him that she had pushed her limits during their vacation, but she was getting better the more time she spent sleeping than practicing, which was the opposite for when they were under Lilwen's mercy. She approached him and tapped his nose. "Stop worrying." She turned to open the door, but was surprised by the person who stood there. "Really?" she scoffed. "Didn't I make myself clear yesterday?"

Caroline's eyes were wary, but were filled with determination. "Is Klaus here?"

"He's back in New Orleans with the mother of his child," Gwen said with venom.

Kol snickered. "Dial it down, my sweet." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "She's just a baby vampire, and Klaus knows better than to invoke your anger yet again and so soon."

"Why are you here?" Gwen asked her as she picked up her bag and walked past Caroline to the car, but kept her ears focused on Caroline.

Caroline didn't know how to answer that question. The other day had been a crazy one in her mind, and she had yet to figure out how she truly felt at having had intercourse with Klaus, for lack of a better term. And she had no anticipated Gwen's reaction. She knew she was Klaus' minion or somewhat of a friend, but she actually found herself reflected in Gwen's behavior if it was either Elena or Bonnie or any of her friends, except Damon. She also didn't count on any of the Original siblings to be on good terms to the point that they were all seemingly on the same side. It was a rather scary and confusing thought for Caroline to actually want to be part of that, because it was such a thrilling life to be among vampires that old and with that much going on that it made her problems with her friends seem like kid stuff.

Gwen frowned as she placed her bag in the backseat, and turned around to see Caroline looking pensively at the floor. "Hello?" Caroline snapped her head up to Gwen's voice. "I asked why you were here, especially with that spell I placed on you about not being able to go near Nik when you're not ready."

Caroline sighed as Kol took hold of his bag and closed the front door of Klaus' mansion. "I just wanted to make somethings clear with Klaus before he had a chance to leave."

"You could've just called him," Gwen said, testing Caroline and what she _really_ wanted to do. "I imagine you just wanted to see him, if only for one last time."

Kol snorted. "I can't imagine why." Kol stopped next to Caroline. "He isn't the handsomest brother."

Gwen rolled her eyes at Kol's teasing, but focused back on Caroline. "You're not ready, Caroline," Gwen said in sympathy. She understood Caroline more than the girl understood herself. She saw how much Caroline wanted more than life, but she burdened herself with too much doubt and insecurities that didn't go well with how much importance she gave her friends above anything else, even her own happiness, which would not bode well for her if she wanted a happy life. "Your friends will forever be the cause of your unhappiness, because you are not truly happy." She smiled at the blonde vampire, while Kol loaded his own suitcase in the car. "You _will_ know when you are happy, it's impossible not to know when you are. And this is why I cannot allow you anywhere near Nik, because you're still not ready." She sighed and decided to give Caroline some hope, if only because she thought that she might be one of the few people that could give Klaus the happiness that he deserves. "The spell will break when you have finally realized what it is you truly want with Niklaus, and I hope you get to live your life to the fullest before then because it will not be just you anymore."

Gwen smiled at Caroline one last time before she got into the driver's seat, while Kol got into the driver's seat. Kol brought the car to life before he began to drive away from Klaus' mansion to go to the airport. They still had a bit to go before they got to the airport and then back to their lives in New Orleans.

"Why did you do that?" Kol asked Gwen after a moment of silence.

"Why did I do what?" Gwen asked as she watched Kol drive into the main road that would eventually lead them out of Mystic Falls.

"The spell on Caroline and then being mean but nice at the same time," Kol said as he chuckled, his eyes on the road. "You seem to dislike her, but you also don't look like you hate her."

"I don't dislike her," Gwen said as she glanced at Kol. He threw her a knowing look, to which she rolled her eyes at. "Okay, I don't exactly like her." She sighed heavily. "Klaus is driven by his anger and paranoia, and I just know that if he finds someone to balance him out then we can all be a family and stand together instead of against each other."

Kol sighed. "That's a good dream, but can it be a reality?"

"I don't know," said Gwen.

"Why don't you tell me what you _actually_ feel?" Kol asked, knowing there was more to Gwen's actions than meets the eye. At Gwen's confused look from his peripheral vision, he continued. "You're afraid he'll end up alone, but you're too protective of him to not just allow anyone to waltz into his life." He snorted. "You're being more like a mother bear than a best friend."

"I _am_ his best friend," Gwen insisted.

"No, you're not," he argued. "You're being a jealous sister, at most."

"Really?" asked Gwen.

"Yes," said Kol. "I understand that you want him to be happy and that you want him to be with a good partner, but you cannot control their emotions. Nik is always either attracted to his conquest's darkness or a glimmer of it under their innocence. He doesn't pursue just anyone."

"I know that," Gwen said as she huffed and slumped back on her seat with her arms crossed over her chest.

Kol chuckled at her pout. "You're pouting."

"I am not," Gwen argued as she tried to hold back the grin that wanted to erupt on her face. "I just wish that Nik could be so much easier to handle. Under the cruelty and paranoia and anger, he just wants to belong and not just be feared."

"He's a complex person, my brother," Kol remarked as they neared the town's limit. "I have no idea how you've managed to survive with him for almost eight years."

Gwen laughed at this. "I was dead." Gwen's laughter died when her phone vibrated, and she picked it out of her jacket's pocket to read it was Klaus calling her. She frowned in curiosity, but answered the call. "Hello?"

" _Where are you?_ " Klaus immediately asked from the other end of the call.

Gwen huffed. "Well, aren't you a happy camper?"

" _Gwen,_ " Klaus said in a warning tone.

"What is it, Nik?" Kol asked, having heard his brother through his supernatural hearing.

" _We're having a witch problem in the Quarter,_ " Klaus explained, sounding rather exasperated. " _Not a single vampire stands with me, so I need to solve this problem to prove to them who the real king is. So I need you back home now!_ " Gwen rolled her eyes. " _Don't you roll your eyes at me, Cat._ "

"How did you know?" Gwen asked in surprise.

" _I know you too well,_ " said Klaus.

"We're on our way to the airport, and then it's a four hour flight home," Kol informed Klaus. "We'll be there around sunset. What's the problem?"

" _It seems that someone has picked up the tricks of an old enemy of mine from our previous time in New Orleans,_ " said Klaus, Gwen putting the phone on speaker to not have to hold it to her ear.

Kol scoffed. "Oh, you mean when I was daggered in a box?"

" _I thought we left that all behind, brother,_ " Klaus grumbled.

"I never said I wouldn't rub it in your face every now and then," said Kol. "So, who's this witch that's come back to haunt you?"

" _He went by Papa Tunde and he preferred to deal with Dark magic,_ " Klaus explained as he recalled his dealings with Papa Tunde. " _He had a special way of using magic by using the power of those around him or his victims._ _Do you know anything about it?_ "

"He used them," Kol mumbled while in thought, familiar with that type of magic. "That's very strong Dark magic, brother. A witch who channels others must know that they cannot do it for a long period of time without killing the person they're channeling their power from. And the only way to break that link is to break the bond the witch established to its source of power."

"So I either kill the witch or kill its source of power, correct?" Klaus said a little to content with his resolve.

"More or less," Kol said with a nod as he kept his eyes on the road. "But be careful, Nik. If it is Dark magic, it can be strong enough to overpower an Original, if the witch knows what he or she is doing."

" _Just get here,_ " Klaus said before he hung up the call.

Gwen sighed as she shared a glance with Kol. "This is the part where you convince me to go back to Paris and ignore the family drama."

Kol laughed. "You're the one who wanted to go home."

* * *

 _New Orleans, Louisiana_

* * *

Elijah and Hayley stood in the courtyard of the Mikaelson Compound with a few vampires lounging around them, one of them being Thierry. Hayley watched as Elijah dialed Rebekah's phone number once more after having tried a few times. He was growing worried that his sister was in trouble or causing it. They were in relative peace at the moment and did not want to jeopardize that by having Klaus go on a rampage.

"Rebekah is not answering her calls," Elijah said when his call was met with Rebekah's voicemail, barely controlling his frustration that managed to seep into his tone of voice as annoyance.

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest, resting on her slowly protruding stomach. "You worried about whoever killed those Daywalkers still being out there?"

"Frankly, I'm worried that she had something to do with this," Elijah sighed as he remembered his argument with Rebekah earlier.

"Our sister going missing is nothing new, dear brother," Kol's voice said rather loudly as he entered the courtyard with Gwen by his side, drawing everyone's attention to him and his partner. "Care to explain why there is so much panic going about when we haven't even settled in yet."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but," Elijah began as he approached Kol and Gwen, "I am relieved to have you home, brother."

Kol raised an eyebrow at Elijah. "It even feels uncomfortable hearing you say it."

Gwen decided to ignore the brothers and looked to Hayley. "You like your present."

"It was a miracle," Hayley sighed in relief as she imagined herself back to her aromatherapy sessions with the gift that Gwen had sent her. "You have no idea how much it helped when I needed to sleep."

Gwen smiled. "Good."

"I'm also happy with my present, Miss Gwen," Elijah said as he presented the watch they got for him that he wore on his left wrist. "It's of good taste."

"You're welcome," Kol said with a smirk. "Now, what is wrong with Rebekah?"

"She's very displeased with Niklaus, perhaps even conspiring with others," Elijah said before his eyes fell on Thierry, who was drinking on a lone table near the entrance of the Compound. The eldest Mikaelson approached the vampire with a grin that betrayed what he truly felt at that moment. "Thierry, is it?"

"That's right," Thierry said with a nod, nervous at what the Original might do, if he figured out what he witnessed at the docks. It did nothing for his nerves at having Kol present, considering he was prone to violence above anything else.

Gwen barely recognized the vampire, but asked, "Aren't you supposed to be locked up?"

"Klaus pardoned me," said Thierry.

"With Rebekah's persuasion," said Elijah with narrowed eyes focused on Thierry. He already noticed the nervousness that plagued Thierry's entire being, so it was enough for Elijah to immediately doubt whatever he said. "My sister is rather fond of you. Strange, she's not typically drawn to unremarkable men. Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?"

"I don't know what you're—"

Elijah, annoyed with Thierry deciding to play the fool, cut him off by grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against the wall near the entrance of the Compound using his heightened speed and strength. Kol, Gwen and Hayley follow Elijah and wait for him to extract information from Thierry.

"Let us skip the part where you act like you know nothing," Kol said, also annoyed that he had to stop his plans with Gwen for the evening.

"So you can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout the Quarter," Elijah said with a rather calm tone of voice.

Elijah lessened his hold on Thierry's neck to allow the choking vampire to answer him. "She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff." He tried to get air into his lungs with a big breath of air, but found it difficult. "I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy. He desiccated her with his touch."

"Like a coward, you left her," Elijah almost growled as he glared at Thierry.

"Give us a good reason as to why we shouldn't do as my brother pointed out earlier to scatter your remains throughout the city," Kol said, but, unlike Elijah, he did growl. "I should start by poking your eyes out."

"What was I supposed to do, fight some warlock that took out an Original?" Thierry said, panicked.

"Where was this, exactly?" asked Hayley.

"The docks, warehouse 57," said Thierry. "I was just doing what she asked. You cannot tell Klaus about this."

Kol, Gwen and Hayley glared at Thierry's words, finding it cowardly that he'd say something like that to them. Elijah waited a moment before he threw Thierry against another wall, which resulted in his neck being snapped upon impact. His body fell to the floor with a thump, remaining motionless on the floor.

"I shall take that into consideration," Elijah said to Thierry's unconscious form. "We need to warn Klaus before he encounters this warlock."

"I'll find him," Gwen volunteered.

Elijah nodded at her before he looked to his brother. "You're coming with me." At Kol's frown, he elaborated. "You're more knowledgeable in witchcraft than I. I need you with me to help our sister."

Hayley, worried about Rebekah as she watched them begin to take their leave, said to Elijah, "I'm coming with you."

"No," Elijah told her as he stopped to face her, while Kol waited for him. Gwen was already leaving the building to begin her search for Klaus. "Stay here. The Compound is safe."

"Rebekah is in trouble," Hayley argued with finality. "I'm going."

"Let her come, 'Lijah," Kol said, anxious to be done with the witch causing so much trouble. "We're Originals. I think that's enough protection."

Elijah paused for a moment as he contemplated this, and sighed in defeat. "Do not leave my sight. Understand?"

Hayley nodded at Elijah's one condition before she followed the two brothers out of the Compound in search of Rebekah.

* * *

Klaus, unaware of the happenings that his siblings were dealing with, was with Sophie in the Cauldron. He watched as she examined the symbols that were left behind and where he found the desiccated vampires when he ordered them to scout the area for any witch activity. And what he feared that would happen had come to pass with the violent murder of two Daywalkers under his rule.

"It's a complex spell," Sophie said as she stood next to Klaus after having been dragged to where they were by the Original Hybrid. "Old-school stuff, rooted in sacrificial magic." Her experienced eyes inspected the symbols. "Whoever did this to your guys, my guess is they were an offering to gain more power. More guys they kill, more power they have."

Klaus' phone vibrated, and when he saw it was Cami, he answered it. "I didn't expect a call from you so soon," he said as he stepped away from Sophie.

" _You need to get to Rousseau's now,_ " Cami said as she tried to remain calm, but was actually afraid. " _Some lunatic witch doctor is killing Marcel._ "

Klaus' smirk vanished and turned into a scowl at the mention of Marcel being in danger. "Get as far away from there as you can." He hung up the call and was about to leave for Rousseau's, but was stopped yet again by his phone ringing. He looked at the screen to find it was Gwen calling him. He groaned before he decided to answer it. "I am in a bit of a rush, so make it quick."

" _Where are you?_ " Gwen asked, ignoring Klaus' attitude.

"On my way to Rousseau's," Klaus said as he started to make his way towards Marcel's location. "I'll call you after I'm done dealing with a very dead witch." He hung up before Gwen could protest.

* * *

"Rebekah!" Elijah called when his eyes fell on Rebekah's still form after they had entered the warehouse Thierry directed them to.

Elijah, Kol and Hayley immediately ran towards her, only for them to be stopped by a barrier made by the salt that surrounded the ground where Rebekah's desiccated body was. Her skin was grey and had veins protruded from her skin with a mark carved on her forehead that Kol recognized as the source of what was ailing his sister.

"Oh, what's happening?" Hayley asked at having been prevented from reaching Rebekah.

"Some kind of boundary spell," said Elijah.

"Right you are, brother," Kol said as he paced around the line of salt, his eyes reading the symbols that were drawn under Rebekah's body. "Someone is channeling her. Typically, it's a lethal process, but because she's an Original, she can't die. Instead, she's an endless source of power."

"So what are we supposed to do?" asked Hayley.

"We have to get her out of there. A witch with the power of an Original is an almost unstoppable force," said Elijah before he turned to Kol in his panicked state, worried for his sister. "How do we do it?"

"To severe the link, we need to get Rebekah out of the circle," Kol said as he knelt down on the border of the circle of salt.

"We cannot enter the circle," Elijah said as he continued to pace, which was a major contrast to Kol's relaxed demeanor. "We need to break this confinement spell, and we need to do it now."

"It's a convoluted spell, like a witch's recipe," Kol began to explain as he glanced up at Elijah. "You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient." He sighed as he began to think about what they could use before it was too late. "We need a mystical binding agent. I don't know, but it has to be something like volcanic ash, rock salt...anything up to and including eye of newt."

Elijah glanced at Hayley before he turned back to stare down at Kol's crouched form. "What about the blood of a witch?"

Kol's brows furrowed. "Do we have the blood of a witch?"

Elijah nodded at his brother before he turned to Hayley. "I need a favor."

"Right," Kol realized as he stood on his feet.

Hayley immediately understood what they meant. "The baby, she's a quarter witch."

Hayley approached Elijah and offered him her wrist. He gingerly took her wrist in his hand that was next to his face, while Kol turned to look at his sister's still body to allow them some privacy. Even he knew that blood sharing was a private affair for vampires. With these thoughts, Kol thought about Gwen and where she was.

* * *

Papa Tunde walked towards Klaus as the Original tried to climb to his feet after having been thrown against a larder cupboard that broke under the force Klaus was thrown with. Klaus had arrived in time to save Marcel from being killed by Papa Tunde with a knife to the heart, but was overpowered by the strength Papa Tunde channeled from Rebekah. Papa Tunde grabbed Klaus, who was still on his knees, by his neck and was about to finish him off with his knife by carving his symbol on Klaus' forehead, but was stopped by being forced back by a green ball of energy pushing off of Klaus.

"Get away from them," Gwen warned the warlock as she entered the bar with her hands stretched in front of her, glowing with a green mist and electric jolts surrounding her hands. She watched as the bewildered witch stood on his feet before turning to stare at her. "I will not ask a second time." She looked to Klaus to find him slowly regaining his strength and climbing back to his wobbly feet. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine, right after I have his head dislodged from his shoulders," Klaus growled as he glared at the dark-skinned man, his eyes going to Marcel's motionless body on the floor for a moment before focusing on his enemy.

Papa Tunde smirked as he stood back on his feet. "You must be Gwen Pierson, Kol Mikaelson's lover."

"Who wants to know?" Gwen said, humoring him.

"You must know that his family is cursed," said Papa Tunde as he righted his jacket with his knife still in his hand. "They will be your death."

Gwen huffed out a small laugh. "I already died and came back, but I'll make sure you won't after I'm done with you."

"Get in line," said Klaus as he stood next to her.

Papa Tunde released a malicious laugh. "We shall see about that." He lifted his hand towards them, Gwen preparing herself to redirect whatever he threw at them, but his smile faded when he felt a snapping sound in the flow of his magic. He realized his connection to Rebekah and her power broke. Tunde became weak, feeling as if someone knocked the air out of his lungs, which allowed Klaus enough time to stun the witch by knocking him away with the back of his hand.

While Klaus rushed over to Marcel's unconscious form, Gwen frowned when she saw Papa Tunde's body disappear with a whooshing sound, so she lowered her hands that ceased to glow before she joined Klaus on the floor to check Marcel for any injury but found none.

Camille chose that moment to enter the bar from the backdoor, her eyes widening in concern when she saw Marcel lying on the floor with his skin greyed from desiccation. "Uh, is he dead?"

"Get out of here," Klaus told her as he stood to stop her from approaching Marcel.

"Is Marcel dead?" Camille ground out. "Did that guy kill him?"

"Will you stop or do I have to enchant your mouth to keep quiet?" Gwen hissed at Camille, having grown frustrated with the woman's demanding questions when Klaus was trying to keep her out of the situation they were in. "I've had enough of blondes for one day," Gwen mumbled to herself, but also found it ironic, considering her own blonde hair.

"He didn't finish him off," Klaus said in a much calmer tone than Gwen's. "Marcel needs blood to heal. Go find me someone off the street."

Camille shook her head. "I'll do it."

"No," Klaus said with a frown. "Not you. I don't want you involved in this."

"You don't control me anymore, remember?" Camille hissed at him with a glare set on her features. She rushed past Klaus and over to Marcel.

"You better be sure what you're doing," Gwen warned Camille as she watched her gather Marcel in her arms. "This is no life for a human."

"Marcel is the victim in this," Camille argued. "I need to help him."

Gwen snorted. "Yeah, the same man who kidnapped me and tried to use me as a bargaining chip against Klaus, right?"

Camille's eyes widened at this, not believing that Marcel would go that far, especially with the vibe she was getting from him earlier when they were talking about Klaus and his cruelty. Deciding to deal with her troubled thoughts later, she placed Marcel's mouth to her neck. "It's okay, Marcel." Gwen stood up and walked over to Klaus, finding the moment uncomfortable. "It's okay. It's okay, Marcel."

Gwen watched as Marcel fed from Camille, but then glanced at Klaus. She frowned when she noticed the look of jealousy he directed at Marcel and Camille. To calm him, Gwen took one of his hands in her own in a gentle hold, causing him to look at her with somber eyes. Gwen smiled up at him, a smile he returned. This interaction did not go unnoticed by Camille as she waited for Marcel to have his fill.

* * *

After around an hour of resting, Rebekah managed to track down Thierry into an alley in the French Quarter and ambushed him by shoving him into a wall with all the rage that coursed throughout her body after having been subjected to a spell by Papa Tunde. It didn't help that Papa Tunde's presence would mean that there was a thin line that traced back to what she had concocted with Marcel many years ago, before Mikael had driven them out of town.

"Ugh! I should rip out your coward heart," Rebekah hissed into his face.

"What, Rebekah?" Thierry said as he lifted his hands up in surrender, not wanting to test an Original's patience, especially after having confronted all but one in one day. "We made a deal to take out your brother, but at the end of the day, it's every man for himself."

Rebekah scoffed as she shoved him away from her before glaring at him and spat, "I am so sick of self-serving narcissists. Are men simply incapable of committing to an alliance?"

Elijah appeared behind Thierry in a blink of an eye before snapping the younger vampire's neck with ease for a second time that day. "I asked you to cease these petty moves against our family, and yet you conspire with this fool," he scolded Rebekah, giving her a disappointed look. "Is this what it's come to, making moves against your own blood?"

"Don't you try and shame me," Rebekah said with a scoff. "Nik grows more powerful by the day, and you do nothing but encourage him."

"I offer him my counsel because it's clear to me that he needs to make the city our home," Elijah explained, trying to reason with his sister. "Now, perhaps leading these _derelicts_ will curb some of these impulses; grant him some degree of happiness."

"You always talk of Nik's happiness," Rebekah spat. "For over a thousand years, he has robbed, not just me of any chance at my own, but also the rest of his siblings. What about me, Elijah? Am I not a concern for you?"

Elijah sighed. "We all make sacrifices in the name of this family, Rebekah, but know this. I will never stand against you or Niklaus or Kol."

"What about Hayley?" Rebekah said, catching Elijah completely off guard. "Nothing I conspire to do, none of my treachery will harm this family as much as your feelings for her! You're a hypocrite, Elijah!" She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "You would choose love over family and then condemn me for doing the same. And I want you to know this, brother"—she practically spat as she stepped closer to Elijah, a lone tear running down her cheek—"gone are the days when you could sacrifice everyone else's happiness to keep Nik entertained. I will no longer follow this routine, and I doubt Kol will very much like it either." She gave him her back before leaving him alone in the alley with Thierry's body.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Gwen said as she pushed back the moan that wanted to escape her. She smiled at having Kol's hands massage her hips from behind, while his lips paid attention to her neck. She had been unloading her suitcase and folding clothes on their bed when Kol had appeared in their room, locking their door behind him. "I need to finish up here."

Kol placed his mouth near her ear. "I don't see the point of doing so."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked as she turned around in Kol's arms to look up at him with her hands on his chest.

"Did you forget that we left Nik with one job?" he asked, grinning as he dug his fingers into her hair. "He found us a house."

Gwen smiled at this. "Really?" He nodded while she chuckled. "Our own house?"

"We'll need to make time to look it over, but we have one," he said, but then looked at her with concern. "Are you all right?" He sighed as he cupped her face with both of his hands. "This Tunde guy didn't hurt you, did he?"

Gwen shook her head and placed her hands on top of his hands that covered her cheeks. "I'm fine, he ran away after Nik knocked him away." She hummed. "I wonder how he came to town."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I just wonder how Papa Tunde came into town," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Nik didn't know why he truly was in town back then, so I was just wondering."

"Let's deal with that later," he said.

She grinned up at him. "We have a house."

"It's still tentative," he chuckled, but was stopped when her lips silenced his own. She jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist, catching him by surprise but he was fast enough to catch her.

Kol walked them to the bed, throwing their clothes that she had neatly folded to the floor before dropping Gwen on the bed. He covered her body with his with her legs still locked around his waist. Kol's lips turned hungrier and passionate, and Gwen knew she would have a new set of bruises the next morning by how desperate he was when ripping her clothes off. She mewled when his lips attached themselves to her neck and his hands worked on getting rid of her jeans. She managed to find a moment to take his shirt off, but she realized that he wanted to be in control tonight, so she allowed it and wrapped her hands around his shoulders with his actions prompting her to voice her pleasure.

* * *

"I got to admit, I thought you'd lose a lot more guys than that," Marcel said as he grinned at Klaus after the Originals made a speech at the courtyard with all of Marcel's followers present, which only resulted in almost half of them abandoning Klaus in refusal to work for him.

Klaus smirked. "Well, good riddance to them, I say." He took the drink Marcel had offered him, taking a sip before he sat on his chair in his study. "We've no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom. Now that you've regained your composure, let's move on to the next item of business, shall we, with a little help from our dear friend Sophie."

"I got no reason to help you," Sophie huffed and then motioned to Marcel, "and I sure as hell don't have a reason to help him. Can't Gwen do your witch business?"

"Now, now, don't be difficult, love," Klaus chuckled as he watched her glare at him. "I would go to Gwen, but she's not from New Orleans and she's quite busy with my brother at the moment. So you'll only live as long as you're of use to me, and right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed has come back for revenge."

"Come on," Sophie huffed as she frowned. "Resurrected witches with vast power? It's the Harvest." Klaus and Marcel both furrowed their brows, having not expected this. "Four girls were meant to die and be reborn. I don't know how, but someone jacked that power, and they used it to bring back four witches...just not the right ones."

"So there's still a chance," Marcel said as he realized something. "If we can get that power back, we can save Davina."

"Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we?" Klaus said, sincerely wanting to get rid of deadly witches before bringing Davina back. "Papa Tunde wants revenge. He'll continue to attack us, channeling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous. So how do I end him?"

"He needs sacrifices to gain power," said Sophie, to which Klaus hummed in response. "You keep him from killing any more Nightwalkers, that's a start."

Klaus paused as he realized that they may already be too late. "Unless," he sighed, "he finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed."

Klaus and Marcel looked at each other as realization dawned on them. They sped away from the room with a destination in mind, but their efforts would be in vain for when they got to the Garden.

* * *

Celeste, in Sabine's body, met with Papa Tunde near a crypt in the Lafayette Cemetery, where he was performing a ritual with his blade that had been his weapon during his confrontations. He held it up into the air, allowing the moonlight to shine over it.

"Is it done?" asked Celeste.

Papa Tunde remained kneeling on the ground with the knife still above him. "This blade now contains all the power I harvested from the vampires. It will do things worse than death, even to an Original."

Celeste walked around him and stood in front of him. "And are you ready for the final offering?"

Papa Tunde raised the knife into the air. "In the name of the witches of the French Quarter, it is my honor!" He presented the knife made of bone to Celeste who took with a grateful smile that he returned before she stood behind him.

"Thank you, Papa Tunde," Celeste said before she slit his throat with the knife. Once he was dead, she looked at the knife, feeling Tunde's power being absorbed into it, and smirked.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed and look forward for the next chapter! Remember to review, your thoughts and love keep this story alive, even after so much struggle.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	28. Chapter 27

**Hey, guys! I am proud to present to you yet another chapter. In honor of my birthday that was on Sunday, so you guys can also share in the fun. Also, my semester is over, which means that posting will happen much faster. I hope these are good news for you guys!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

* * *

Gwen sighed when she felt a hand roaming up and down her side, massaging her skin and muscles. Kol was awake behind her on their bed, his head leaning on the hand he wasn't using to rub Gwen's side. He smiled as he watched her take shallow breaths, her body rising and falling with each breath. The sheet that covered him from the waist down also covered her from the waist down, which left her upper body with enough view for him to enjoy; both of them naked under the sheet. But what he was enjoying the most was her milky skin that was littered with purple spots around her chest and shoulders, while his hands were imprinted on her waist and wrists from his fervor. He didn't know what came over him, but the other night had been one of those that he needed to be in charge and give Gwen a wonderful night dedicated to her. She also had those nights when she was in complete control, which he enjoyed immensely, except that she enjoyed it more when he was in control most of the time; it was a win-win scenario for both of them.

"Gwen, my darling," he whispered as he leaned his head close to her ear. Her only response was a whine as she covered herself up with their sheet, snuggling into her pillow.

Kol pressed himself closer into her back and wrapped his arms around her. This action had her turning to face him as her eyes fluttered open, offering Kol a tired smile, but she was not too tired to reach up and connect her lips to his. Kol sighed into the kiss, deepening it instantly with her arms wrapping themselves around his neck. She was still tired, but decided to tire out Kol and convince him not to get out of bed yet. She moaned into his mouth and pushed him onto his back before she straddled him, her hands roaming over his chest. She began to trail her lips over his jaw and down to his neck, whereas his hands found their imprints from the night before on her hips. He groaned when she placed her lips on a certain spot on his neck that had him at her mercy, but he needed to collect himself. He would never admit it, but the night before had tired him out after the fifth time they joined. But he wanted to go see the house that Klaus had looked for them.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, my darling, and you must understand I am in my perfect little heaven," he said, but it turned into a moan as she continued her ministrations onto the base of his neck, taking her time with him. "Don't you want to go see our house?"

This only had Gwen stop her movements and drop on the bed next to him, snuggling into his side. "It's too early."

"You didn't have to stop," he teased as he turned to his side to gather her in his arms with his cheek against her forehead and her own cheek against his neck. His teasing earned him a slap to his chest.

"I just wanted to keep you in bed," she mumbled into his chest, still too tired from their trip and arrival to New Orleans to move, even if it was to see their house. "What time is it?"

Kol glanced at the clock on the nightstand on his side of the bed before burying his nose into her hair. "It's almost nine." He grinned, his fingers trailing a line on her bare spine, causing an involuntary shiver to run through her body. "I love how you smell." She hummed, urging him to continue. "It's like vanilla, but with a hint of strawberry mixed in." He tightened his hold around her. "My Darling Gwen."

"You smell nice, too," Gwen mumbled, sleep trying to pull her back into slumber. "It's a spicy smell, but with a hint of booze."

Kol chuckled as he leaned his down and capture her lips in a sloppy kiss, considering she was still a bit sleepy, but she was determined to stay awake. She buried her fingers into his hair, bringing him closer to her as they deepened the kiss. It wasn't heated, taking their time and enjoying one another as they kissed in a lazy manner with smiles and giggles.

Suddenly, their door was slammed open. Klaus strode in with a swagger to his steps and a smirk on his lips. Kol's immediate reaction was to make sure Gwen was covered up with the sheet before he covered her with his own body, not caring if he risked being naked in front of his older brother. He met Klaus' smirk with an intense glare that would have had Klaus fifty feet underground, if he could.

"What the hell, Nik!" Gwen almost screeched as she hid behind Kol, glaring at Klaus as she secured the sheet around her chest and body. "You can't just barge in here, as if this was your damn room!"

"Is that any way to treat the man that was kind enough to find you a home to live in," Klaus said, mocking the hurt look on his face as he placed a hand over his chest. "You'll have to excuse me, but I am rather happy with you two leaving the house, so I wanted to enjoy the last few days you'll be with us. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to silent nights with no need to want to burn the insides of my ears."

Kol growled. "Get out!"

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs and we'll be off to see the house," Klaus said as he walked over to the door. "Breakfast is waiting for you." He reached the door and was about to close it, but poked his head back in. "And, Cat?"

Gwen turned to him, her glare matching Kol's before she hissed, "What?"

"I just wanted to point out that you have amazing skin." He was met with a pillow and a clock being thrown at him, but he closed the door before either object could hit him square in the face. He laughed as he heard Kol and Gwen cursing him as he walked down the hallway, and he felt like it was going to be a good day.

* * *

"You cannot still be angry," Klaus said as he walked a few steps behind Gwen along the sidewalk with Kol walking next to him after they exited Klaus' car. It had only taken them fifteen minutes for them to get to their destination by car. Gwen was adamant about not being anywhere near him, especially when he had yet to apologize. "Cat?"

"Why don't you just apologize already?" Kol whispered to him. He also found himself wary about Gwen's temper, since it had yet to improve since Klaus left their room. She had even gone as far as throwing a knife at him, which perplexed Elijah, Rebekah and Hayley. "She won't stop being grumpy, unless you apologize."

"She threw a knife at me," Klaus defended himself. "If anyone is owed an apology, it's me."

"What?" Gwen asked as she stopped walking to turn around to glare at him, which had him and his brother stopping right then, keeping some distance. "I woke up so happy and relaxed after having spent two months without much sleep, so _excuse me_ if I am a bit grumpy at having to deal with you barging into our room when you knew that we were not ready to get up!" She turned back around and continued to walk, following Klaus' directions to where the house was.

"I forgot that she is not a morning person," Klaus sighed as he began to walk once more, Kol following his steps.

"Please, apologize," Kol whined as they caught up to Gwen as she stood in front of the house that Klaus had chosen for them. Kol looked it over and liked the house. "It looks nice."

Gwen sighed as she looked at the house of two floors with a house at its sides. Two trees sat in front of the house on the sidewalk, giving the balcony of the second floor a curtain of privacy. "Is this it?" She turned to Klaus.

"It is." He motioned to the front door with a wave of his hand. "You can go in."

Gwen turned to the house and walked towards the front door, taking only five steps to get there. Klaus and Kol stood a foot behind her, and they watched as she lifted her hand and placed it on the doorknob before she turned it and pushed the door open. She took a step inside and smiled at the cozy home as she looked around, but frowned when she saw both Kol and Klaus still outside.

"What's wrong?" she asked them.

"I put the house under your name," Klaus explained and looked to a stack of papers that were sitting on a table near the front door. "Those papers were a hassle to get, but I've managed to get you your house."

Gwen sighed, feeling grateful that Klaus had gone through the trouble. "I guess I can forgive you, if you only apologized."

"For what?" Klaus asked, indignant, which earned him a shove to his side from Kol using his elbow.

"I can just never invite you in," Gwen said with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Klaus sighed mightily. "I apologize for having disrupted your privacy with my brother."

"You can both come in," she said, her words immediately taking effect as they stepped over the threshold without resistance. She went over to the papers and traced her fingers over them before she turned to the two Mikaelsons. "So, I own the house?"

"Yes," answered Klaus. He clapped with a grin on his face. "Now, care for a tour of the house?" Both Kol and Gwen nodded as they looked around the cream-colored walls of the walls. "This house was built in 1916, a true classic beauty in this trim backed restoration of a two-story Greek Revival Classic Townhouse." He walked around the first floor of the house with his brother and Gwen following, looking around the rooms. "Beautiful wood floors, high ceilings, early staircase with balcony off the front and rear side of the house, which is the two-story attached dependency, opens onto a lush courtyard with easy parking for one car on site. The rear courtyard is mostly owned by this property."

Gwen smirked at Klaus. "Why do I feel that you can make an excellent realtor?"

"Aren't you a hoot?" said Klaus, his smile sarcastic.

"How many rooms?" Kol asked as he walked around the kitchen.

"Two bedrooms, two bathrooms and half a bathroom," said Klaus, while Gwen left them to go to the courtyard. "The heating and air conditioning is central, but every room has air conditioning."

Gwen opened the door that led outside and smiled at the brick exterior with a slate roof and a raised foundation. The patio was also made of brick, giving the place a historical vibe. She saw the only driveway, thinking that it was a good idea that Kol was the one getting a car. With both of them being supernatural beings meant that, even if one was left without transportation, they wouldn't need a car to move around. Klaus and Kol joined her as they stepped out of the house, still talking about the house's history.

"You'd need to work on furnishing and whatever else you want, but the house already has everything else installed," Klaus informed them. "There's cable and a wireless connection, water's good and so is electricity."

Gwen smiled at him before wrapping her arms around him for a hug. "This is perfect, Mouse."

"Anything for you," he said, squeezing her once before they pulled away from one another. It surprised Klaus that Kol only smiled at them, but he noticed the smallest glint of jealousy still in his eyes. "So want to see your bedroom?"

"Yes," Gwen squealed, bouncing on the ball of her feet.

Klaus led the happy couple up the stairs and entered the second floor. "The room has yet to be furnished, but that will be all you as you get settled." He opened the door to their bedroom, but a frown coated his features when he found the room completely furnished with a king-sized bed, drawers, a bookshelf and a flat screen TV. There were curtains on the four windows that led to a small balcony; one balcony had a view of the courtyard, while the other two led to a balcony that had a view of the street in front of the house. There was also a sofa in the room and a vanity. The room was decorated in autumn colors, Gwen's favorite season of the year besides winter. The theme gave the room a cozy feel.

Kol and Gwen entered the room, smiling at the décor. "I thought you said you didn't decorate the house, but I love this theme." She walked further into the room and noticed a note on the bed. "What's this?" She picked up the note and unfolded it to read what it said. "' _Dear Miss Gwen_ '"—Gwen groaned at this, but continued—" _and Kol. I previously visited your new humble abode with Niklaus a few times and know that you will make it a fine place to live in. I hope it won't be long before we're invited for dinner. I also took the liberty of giving you a present to welcome you to your new home, taking in consideration yours and my brother's tastes. I hope you enjoy my Christmas present. Also, tell Niklaus that I do appear to be good at giving presents_ '."

"Bloody cheat," Klaus almost growled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Gwen laughed, while Kol snickered at his brother's expense.

"I love it," Gwen said as she sat on the comfy bed that would soon be hers and Kol's. "Elijah has very good taste."

Kol nodded as he looked around the room, his eyes going to the bookshelf. "He gave me back my grimoires."

"You mean the ones that you stole," Klaus clarified, but Kol shrugged as he stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

"We need to pick out the paint for the walls," Gwen said as she took out her phone and took pictures of their room as reference to how she planned to decorate the house with Kol. "I want the house to be as cozy as this room."

"When do you want to start?" Kol asked her as he stood behind her, watching what she was taking pictures of. "We'll need to ask Elijah where he got the curtains to match the ones here with the rest of the house."

Gwen smiled brightly at him, causing Kol to smile down at her with his hands on her waist; he was happy to simply watch her be happy. "That's a good idea."

"My noble brother," Klaus grumbled, but Gwen rolled her eyes at him playfully.

"He was being a nice brother," she said as she leaned into Kol's side. All eyes turned to her when her stomach rumbled. "I think I'm hungry."

Kol grinned down at her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll deal with the house later, but I think it is best we get some food in you before you eat us."

"Also, I already made plans to stuck you both up with enough blood to last you a month," Klaus said as they left the room, intent on getting lunch. "After that, you can either call me and I'll set you up once more, or you can fend for yourselves."

"Thank you, Mouse," Gwen and Kol said simultaneously, earning a scowl from Klaus that he threw over his shoulder.

"Oh, you better enjoy these moments that I allow such insolence," Klaus threatened, but his companions only chuckled as they followed him out of the house.

* * *

Kol and Gwen had allowed Klaus to decide where they would be having lunch, but were not surprised when they found themselves seated in a secluded booth in the establishment called _Rousseau's_ , which seemed like the regular place they would be going to. Gwen didn't mind, as long as she got delicious food to fill her tummy. It was Kol that found it unnerving, considering the reason why Klaus chose this place over any other. The youngest of the Original brothers had his head supported by his hand with its elbow resting on the edge of their table. He rolled his eyes at Klaus when he noticed he was staring the blonde bartender that had captured his interest, which was something that did not happen, but it was annoying to watch. He turned his eyes to Gwen and smiled as he watched her read the menu with a serene expression.

"Ready to order something, darling?" Kol asked her as he picked up an onion ring that they had ordered, along with mozzarella sticks because Gwen did not like onion rings, so they settled on two appetizers. His question snapped Klaus out of his thoughts from having been staring at Camille from across the room to stare at his brother, who was staring at Gwen. "Having trouble?"

"I don't see any pasta plates," Gwen said as she leafed through the menu.

Kol took the menu from her and looked it over, feeling her lean into his shoulder to also read the menu. "Let's see," he whispered, while Klaus did the same with his own menu. "Want a burger with bacon and cheddar cheese?"

"That sounds good," Gwen said, her mouth beginning to water at the thought of eating the burger. "But without pickles.

Kol sighed. "I cannot believe you don't like pickles."

"Tell me about it," said Klaus, his eyes still on his menu. "I'm still trying to figure out a way to get her to eat some."

Gwen pouted at them before she crossed her arms under her chest. "Well, that is just fine," she chuckled before looking at Klaus. "And this is coming from a guy that doesn't go anywhere near Mexican food." Kol chortled, but Gwen turned to him. "And the other one that doesn't like desserts."

"Is it a crime to not have a sweet tooth?" Kol said defensively.

Klaus huffed. "I don't like the mixing of so much food, let alone the tacos and burritos."

Gwen rolled her eyes at them before she raised her hand to flag down a waitress that was not Camille. She did not want to deal with a flustered Klaus. "Waitress!" The brunette waitress came over to their table with a note pad out to take their order. "Yes, I'd like the bacon and cheddar cheese burger."

"Okay," she said as she wrote down Gwen's order before turning to the two males.

"I'll have the same," Klaus said as he put down his menu.

Kol sighed as he looked over the menu once more before turning to the waitress. "Might as well get the same."

The waitress nodded as she wrote down their order before she grabbed the menus and left to the kitchen. The three immortal beings fell back on their seats and focused on their drinks, which were all a different signature alcoholic beverage of the bar. While Klaus' and Kol's were a bit bitterer, Gwen's was fruitier.

"What have we missed, Nik?" Gwen asked as she took a sip of her drink. "It seems that witches remain a problem here in New Orleans for you."

Klaus sighed heavily. "I know." He cleared his throat. "It seems that the power that was meant to resurrect Davina and the other young witches was stolen by someone and used to resurrect four other witches."

"Old enemies of ours?" Kol asked. He needed to be sure that what they were dealing with was either a vendetta against is family or they were to be caught in the crossfire of someone else's fight.

"Yes." Klaus nodded, but frowned. "I just can't seem to figure out who is the true mastermind of this concoction." He thought of Papa Tunde, but he shook his head. "Papa Tunde's appearance means that he was one of the resurrected witches, but his sons were not, or they would've been somewhere nearby."

"You killed his sons?" Gwen asked with a disapproving look on her face.

"Collateral damage," Klaus said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Sophie did hint that, if we manage to retrieve this power and send it back to the earth, the young witches that were sacrificed will be resurrected."

Gwen's eyes widened at this. "Davina can come back to life."

"Yes, Marcel seems more cooperative because of this," said Klaus.

"Can you blame him?" asked Gwen. "That girl didn't deserve to die."

"Well, that's what happens when you meddle with the supernatural," Klaus said, taking a sip of his drink. "You're bound to meet death sooner or later."

"What are we going to do about that power that was stolen?" Kol asked in worry. He didn't like it when witches would start to plot without him having knowledge of it. He was the one that knew more about witchcraft, so that meant he would need to start paying closer attention to witches and their movements. "We'd need to find the witch that stole the power, and then we'd get our reason for the need of the resurrections."

"Yes, well, let's focus on something else," Klaus said as he released a sigh. "I'm in no mood to deal with business at the moment."

"That's why we have a bar with no shortage of booze," Gwen said with a happy grin, her focus going back to her drink.

* * *

"I blame you," Kol huffed as he closed the door of Klaus' car with a kick of his foot. It was nighttime and they had spent the entire day at _Rousseau's_. "'She'll be fine', you said. 'She's got the tolerance of an Irish', you said."

After their meal had come and gone, the three of them decided to drink the day away without a care in the world. When it became known to him that Gwen was a lightweight, even as an immortal being, he wanted her to stop, but Klaus assured him they would be fine. It wasn't long after the sun had disappeared that Gwen could barely stand on her feet. Her tolerance was nowhere near Klaus' or Kol's, but she kept up with them. It all stopped when Kol had enough and watched Gwen dozing off on the bar. He enjoyed her drunk because she became more affectionate and loving, but he was not going to be a negligent boyfriend that gets his girl drunk and left her to fall flat on her face. It didn't help that the bar grew too loud for his or Klaus' liking after the sun went down. Klaus saw that he would not get a moment with Camille, so he followed Kol out of the bar.

"I didn't know she was such a lightweight," Klaus mumbled as he slammed his own door shut. He followed Kol into the Compound, noticing how Gwen was sleeping in Kol's arms, her arms wrapped around Kol's neck, while his younger brother kept his arms wrapped around her torso and legs. "I guess we could've stopped after the tenth round."

"You think?" Kol asked, feeling quite irritated with his brother's carelessness, not that he was any better, but he needed to blame someone that wasn't Gwen. "I'll take her upstairs."

"What happened to her?" Hayley asked as she watched them arrive in the courtyard from the second floor, her eyes showing her concern for the blonde woman in Kol's arms. "Is she all right?"

"Right now she is," Kol answered as he walked up the stairs, meeting Hayley at the top. "I don't think she'll be very happy come morning."

"I'll go get her something for her to take when she wakes up," Hayley said and left to find some pills for the headache that awaited Gwen when she woke up.

"I'll go and get something to eat," Klaus said as he reached the top of the stairs before he smirked. "Or I might just someone to eat."

Kol rolled his eyes before he made his way towards his and Gwen's bedroom. Once inside his room, Kol took care when he placed Gwen on their bed, hearing her mumble as he took off her shoes. She was wearing a dress, so he left her in it and took off her coat as well. He pulled the sheet up to her shoulders and sat down next to her. He smiled when he watched her turn on her side, snuggling into her pillow.

"Nik's right, darling," he said as he placed his hands on the bed at her sides to place a kiss on her temple. "You really are a lightweight." A knock at their door had Kol turning away from Gwen and answering the door to find Elijah standing on the other side. "'Lijah?"

"I heard our dear Miss Gwen did not come back so well," said Elijah.

Kol stepped out of his room and softly closed the door behind him before facing Elijah. "Let's just say that Gwen cannot go drinking alone." He folded his arms over his chest. "What can I help you with, brother?"

"Come with me," Elijah said as he motioned for his brother to follow with a nod of his head.

Kol followed Elijah dutifully throughout the desolate hallways of the Mikaelson Compound, which was uncharacteristically odd, considering how the city came to life at night. This was of little concern to the brothers as they stepped into a study. Elijah closed the door behind them and walked over to the desk in the room. Kol watched his brother as he tried to figure out what Elijah wanted from him.

"All right, I'll bite," Kol said as Elijah sat at the desk, while Kol took one of two seats in front of the desk. "What's with all the secrecy, o noblest of brothers?" When Elijah opened his mouth to answer, Kol interrupted him when he remembered a very important item. "Wait, do you still have _it_?"

Elijah sighed before he nodded. "It's safe and hidden from prying eyes, not even Rebekah was capable of finding it to try it on."

"Good," Kol said, relieved that the ring was safe. "You may continue."

"First thing's first," Elijah began as he picked up a pen and played with it on the top of the desk, "how were the holidays?"

"Tiring, if you must know," said Kol. "The arrival of Gwen's ancestor did little to relax us. She trained Gwen to harness and control her power, something that was needed to keep it from overpowering her."

Elijah's brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you talking about Lilwen?" At Kol's nod, Elijah hummed in thought. "Do we have an ally?"

"She'll be family soon enough," Kol said and chuckled at the memory of Lilwen gushing over having him as family. "She's very eccentric and is looking forward to the wedding, but she's busy enough with making sure things were kept in check."

"What do you mean?" asked Elijah.

"It seems that Lilwen has her own share of enemies that she locked away with her own version of Klaus' daggers," Kol explained as he held his hands on his lap. "Their seal seemed to have weakened when she was resurrected, so she is simply reinforcing the seals once more."

Elijah nodded, relaxing at not having to worry about something else. It was bad enough that he had Klaus to keep in check, now Rebekah was crossed with him for siding with Klaus and rebuffing her, which was never his intention with his siblings. "Will she be joining us here?"

"I am not sure," said Kol. "She'll call when she wants. I don't think whe'll have much reception wherever she's going."

"All right." Elijah hummed as he nodded. "How did Miss Gwen like her new bedroom?"

Kol nodded. "She loved it, we both did, so thank you for the present."

"What did Niklaus think?" Elijah grinned then.

"Well," Kol chuckled. "He was pouting the rest of our duration in the house."

"Good," sighed Elijah. "Now, I have a request to ask of you, brother." At Kol's silence, he continued. "Our witch problem seems to have grown exponentially. I'd rather put an end to it before it becomes a real problem."

"What I'd like to know is who stole that much power," Kol said, repeating his concern from earlier in the day. "It's no small thing, whoever did that. It had to had taken time to prepare and get the timing right, someone who was aware of everything we did." Elijah watched as realization dawned on his brother. Kol looked up at Elijah with a frown. "It had to have been someone who was with us."

"Yes, it appears we were used for another purpose that was not to complete the Harvest," Elijah said as he stood, dropping the pen. "Someone took the opportunity of those girl's deaths to bring back old witches, witches that seem to have a history with our family."

"No wonder Klaus was so eager to get drunk," Kol said as he scoffed. "His paranoia is taking over and will soon be declaring war on the witches."

"We cannot allow that," Elijah said as he stuffed a hand into his pants' pocket, using the other to accentuate his words. "It will do no good infuriating a coven of witches; we will only give our niece more enemies to inherit, especially in our very home."

"I doubt Klaus is thinking that far ahead," Kol said with a mirthless laugh. "He has tunnel vision when he zeros in on an enemy." Kol chuckled at a thought. "Much like a rabid dog."

"We need to keep peace in this city," said Elijah, his mind reeling. "And for that to be possible, we need to go after the witches and set the terms." The eldest looked at the youngest. "I'll need your help, brother."

Kol smirked at Elijah. "When do we start?"

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. This was more of a chapter for Gwen and Kol, also for them to catch up on everything that ad happened since they've been gone. It was fun to give them a day to themselves and write the dynamic between Kol, Gwen and Klaus. Yes, Kol is allowed to be a tiny bit jealous, even if he knows that Gwen would never betray him, let alone with Klaus. They are more like siblings. Also, I can't wait to post the next chapter; it's done and things will spice up!**

 **Remember to review your thoughts, Fave your love and Follow as you please. This are the things that keep me going. And your opinions do matter to me, so no fear!**

 **See ya later!**


	29. Chapter 28

**Hello, hello! Here is yet another chapter for you guys to enjoy! Finally, we're going to my favorite part of the season. Things won't be as sweet and happy as usual, but we'll just be beginning here!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

* * *

"Yes, so when can I have it be delivered?" Gwen asked into her phone that she held to her ear as she paced in the living room with Kol sitting on the sofa, drinking a glass of scotch. He watched Gwen with amusement as she worked on getting their furniture. It had been a few days since she and Kol went to see their new home with Klaus, so she had started working on getting things ready. She was eager to get started on decorating their house, something Kol kept a distance from so as to not have her bite his head off. "As soon as possible would be preferable."

Kol zoned out Gwen as she talked with an employee to schedule their start of a new home. They had spent the last few days looking over sofas, kitchen utensils, paint colors and many other things that Kol was actually excited for. It wasn't every day that he found himself interested in housework, let alone go out and spend days with a crabby Gwen deciding on what they liked for their house. They managed to compromise most of the time, other times they argued over what item they should choose, considering their arguments were focused on making the home a good place and mixture of his atmosphere and she had hers.

"Kol?" Gwen looked at Kol as she finished her phone call, glad that it had gone smoothly. She frowned when she noticed he seemed to be off in his own world, so she approached him and waved a hand in front of his eyes, causing them to blink rapidly before they turned upwards to meet her own eyes. "You okay, darlin'?"

Kol nodded as he stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the living room. "I was only thinking, darling." He had them step out into the hallway. "So now that you have gained us some sofas, why don't we go out to eat?" As they stepped out into the hallway that led to the stairs that would get them to the first floor, they heard a collection of murmurs before they saw the corpse of Papa Tunde at the center of a crowd of vampires. Kol sighed before he said, "Why can't we have a month before everything goes down the drain?"

"I actually wish for a hangover," said Gwen.

Kol snorted. "Careful what you wish for."

* * *

Elijah crouched down to examine Papa Tunde's corpse that laid on the symbol that he drew on the center of the foreheads of his victims. While Elijah looked for the cause of death, Marcel and Klaus stood beside him and watched. Kol and Gwen also stood nearby after the crowd of vampires had dispersed.

"Can I get you anything, brother?" Klaus asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone of voice. "A magnifying glass? A pipe, perhaps?"

Gwen gave Klaus a disapproving look. "Really?"

Elijah sighed, choosing to ignore Klaus' teasing. "You have a theory you'd like to share with us, Niklaus?" This silenced Klaus' teasing.

"Back in the day, the witches wanted to send a threat, they'd just kill a chicken and leave it on your doorstep," Marcel explained.

"It's rather a large and ominous chicken, wouldn't you say?" Elijah said as he stood back up.

"It is old school stuff," said Kol as he looked over Papa Tunde's body that was dressed in white, making the blood that soaked his front stand out.

"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease, almost got the two of us as well," Klaus said as he gestured to himself and Marcel. "If he was supposed to be the prize fighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?"

"Maybe he _was_ their prize fighter," Gwen began as she stared at Papa Tunde's body. "He could've been a sacrifice for a greater purpose to them. Whatever they planned, it surely needed him dead for some reason, especially with the amount of power he absorbed."

That was when Rebekah chose to appear and joined them with a grin on her lips. "Well, don't you all look cheery?" She came to a stop next to Elijah as she stared at all of them. "Listen to this, a girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving her tour of the City of the Dead." This bit of information earned her some frowns filled with confusion.

"More witches coming back from the dead?" Kol huffed out a laugh. "That is never good." Gwen turned to him with a pointed look, which caused him to backtrack. "You're the exception, of course, my sweet." This had Klaus making a whipping noise, which Kol glared at.

"Who was it?" asked Gwen and waited for Rebekah to say it was Davina.

"It was Monique Deveraux," Rebekah said, which did not matter to Gwen at the moment, considering she was more worried about Davina returning to life.

Klaus' eye widened a bit. "What?"

"The tourists thought it was part of the show, but the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle," Rebekah said, and she was not too happy that the witches have gained a surge of power in the supposed miracle that was Monique Deveraux.

"Maybe it is," said Marcel. "They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected. This is how we're gonna get Davina back."

Gwen understood where he was going with his train of thought. "You mean kill the witch who took her place."

"Exactly," said Marcel.

"I have a theory about who one of them could be." Hayley made her appearance as she appeared halfway down the stairs and showed Davina's drawing of Elijah's former lover. "Celeste."

"Bloody hell," mumbled Kol, finding it a bit amusing that they had to deal with one of Elijah's lovers from his past. Kol found it amusing how Elijah always went after girls that seemed to go after them at some point in their lives.

"I mean, it's got to be," Hayley said as she shrugged. "Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil is coming."

"It makes sense," said Gwen. "It's no coincidence that Davina's predictions centered on a single person, especially now that we're getting so much witch activity."

"First, Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores," Klaus said as he glanced at Elijah, "and now your murdered lover is back." He was growing anxious. He did not like being in the unknown when it came to potential enemies, especially the ones that they had caused the death of. "This isn't witches attacking vampires. They're declaring war on us."

Kol shared a knowing glance with Elijah.

* * *

In the study of the Compound, Rebekah joined Elijah as she served herself a drink to dull her mind, needing a way to relax and forget about their problems. It was quite tiring how they had too much to deal with in the span of such little time. They only got a few days before they were thrown another problem to deal with.

"It's not too early for scotch, is it, with all the witchy shenanigans and subterfuge afoot?" Rebekah said as a way to start a conversation, if only to test her status with Elijah after they had a spat.

Elijah sighed, recognizing his sister's attempt at a conversation. "It is entirely too early if one intends to drive, yes." He was tired and had too much on his mind. He often wondered what it would be like to dump all of his baggage on someone else, but then he'd worry over whether they were doing it right or not, which often proved to be correct.

"Funny, I don't have any plans to go anywhere," said Rebekah.

"She's not safe here," Elijah said as he watched his sister take a sip of her drink. He tried to tell her what he meant with his imploring eyes, knowing that she was more than capable of doing this one favor for him. "You have to take Hayley to the Plantation House until this is over, and try to take Miss Gwen with you; you both seem to be capable of being a formidable force when together."

Rebekah blinked at Elijah. "Are you worried about Hayley, or whether or not you can trust me?"

"It's precisely because I trust you that I'm asking you to do this," said Elijah, approaching Rebekah. "And I need Kol to not be distracted with his worry over his soon-to-be fiancée, which resolves any problem whatsoever."

"Here's a novel idea," Rebekah began, "why don't you let Hayley decide for herself?" She huffed as she placed her glass on the bar before crossing her arms over her abdomen. "Why are you dictating her fate?"

Elijah rubbed his forehead, trying to will away his frustrations while also avoiding making eye contact with Rebekah. His sister had an uncanny ability to read people like an open book. "You know why."

"Then perhaps you should take her yourself," said Rebekah, rolling her eyes at him. It did not appeal to her that she would have to play being a nanny once more.

"Well, then that would make me the very hypocrite you've accused me of being," Elijah replied with a hint of brashness. "Rebekah, I cannot legislate my feelings. My actions, however"—he took his sister's hand into his own in a gentle grip—"So, would you kindly do this for me?"

Rebekah sighed. "You know the mama wolf loves to be told what to do," she said sarcastically. "She's not gonna like it. But I will do it for you, if only to end this silly quarrel between the two of us." She smiled at Elijah and clapped her free hand over their joined ones. "I'll take Wenny with me. It's better to be overly prepared than lack anything."

Rebekah took her glass from the bar and handed it to Elijah, silently telling him to unwind for a while. She smiled at Elijah before she turned around and left the room to find Gwen As soon as she reached the hallway, she was grabbed and pulled into an alcove by Marcel with a gentle grip so as to not harm her.

Rebekah, startled and wide-eyed, asked, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Listen, everybody's running off looking for resurrected witches," Marcel began to explain as he recalled his earlier assistance to the first mass at St. Anne's Church since the massacre with Klaus, having caught a glimpse of a face he thought he and Rebekah had buried long ago to get rid of vital evidence. "Meanwhile, I think I saw one at the church… _Genevieve_."

Rebekah's eyes widened exponentially as fear wrapped around her very being. "What?"

"I can't be sure." Marcel shook his head. "I only caught her out of the corner of my eye, been with Klaus since. But it looked like her." His mind was reeling with how bad it could end for them, but he focused on how they would fix their situation before word was spread before it reached Klaus. "And you and I both know that she would have a reason to want to be back; a lot of unfinished business, a lot of secrets that you and I don't want getting out."

Rebekah took a deep breath and calmed her erratic nerves that almost consumed her. "I have to take Hayley to the Plantation with Gwen." Her eyes were hard and filled with determination. "You need to find Genevieve and end this. End it like we did the last time."

Marcel nodded in understanding and left to do as Rebekah said. They had no other choice but to destroy any evidence that would link them to the tragedy that had caused the Mikaelsons to flee from New Orleans. Unbeknownst to either of them, Gwen had stayed hidden behind a corner, having stopped when she heard Rebekah say her name, but now she was frowning after having heard the desperation in both Marcel and Rebekah as they spoke to one another.

Gwen shook her head and decided to ignore their exchange for now before she made herself known to Rebekah, startling the Original further. "What's got you so jumpy?" Gwen asked as she smiled at Rebekah. "I thought I heard my name."

Rebekah eyed Gwen for a moment as she tried to figure out if the witch looked like she had heard her conversation with Marcel, but decided to not seem suspicious. She cleared her throat and smiled. "It appears we're babysitting."

"Really?" Gwen sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, not having expected to be stuck babysitting a grown woman that was supposed to have control of her own life. "Elijah needs to get it through his thick head that this is not the way of seducing someone."

"You've noticed?" Rebekah grinned.

Gwen snorted. "It's out in the open. The fact that neither Klaus nor Kol seem to pay it much attention is astounding."

"Yes, well, they have a tendency to be quite dense," said the blonde Original. "Well, get ready." She began to walk away to find Hayley.

Gwen frowned at her. "For what?"

"I was told that we need to go to the Plantation," Rebekah explained. "Elijah said it might be safer."

"Fine," Gwen whined halfheartedly. "I'll just push back painting the house to another day."

Rebekah glanced at her with a raised eyebrow as they walk along a hallway. "You know you can have someone else do that, right?"

"I know." Gwen nodded. "I just want to be the one to fix up my own home."

"What does Kol think of the manual labor?" Rebekah said and shared a smirk with Gwen.

Gwen thought back to Rebekah's secret rendezvous with Marcel and wondered about it, deciding to ask Kol about it later. The last thing she was going to do is talk to Klaus about it, considering there was a high possibility that he was the one they were trying to keep their secret from. She stole a glance at Rebekah from the corner of her eye and grew worried for her friend.

* * *

Gwen, Rebekah and Hayley stepped out of one of the car that the Mikaelsons had stored in the Compound, having just arrived at the house that had belonged to the Originals once upon a time. The three of them stepped away from the car and walked towards the Plantation House, which was where they were meant to spend the day until Elijah solved their problems with the witches before they had to return.

"I thought I was gonna have to drag you to the Plantation kicking and screaming," Rebekah said to Hayley, also asking a silent question as to why the werewolf made it so easy for them.

Gwen chuckled. "I'd also like to know."

"Yeah, well, we all just wanna protect me and the baby, right?" Hayley snapped, disliking how she was treated like a porcelain doll that needed to be stored in a glass box. She knew what was at stake, but there was so much someone could take before they went mad.

Rebekah raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Hey," called Rebekah, causing Hayley to turn to face her. "We're on your side, remember?"

"So don't take it out on the only ones that want to keep you _both_ alive," said Gwen, not really bothered by Hayley's outburst.

"So, what gives?" asked Rebekah.

Hayley sighed. "Tonight's a full moon, guys."

"So what?" Rebekah asked with a shrug of her shoulders, not understanding why the full moon had Hayley so upset. "You're preggers, you can't turn."

"Yes, but I wanted to invite a few people over," Hayley said, her voice almost a whisper as she made the insinuation to both Gwen and Rebekah.

"Right," Gwen said when she realized what Hayley meant.

Rebekah also nodded in understanding. "Every red-blooded American werewolf will be a bundle of fur and sharp teeth tonight, whilst your cursed Crescent Clan will be—"

"Human," Hayley finished for Rebekah, "but only for a few hours, and won't be again until the next full moon." She innocently smiled at the two blondes in front of her. "So I asked Josh to get a message out to Eve in the Bayou."

"Josh isn't dead yet?" Rebekah was surprised by this.

Gwen hummed. "I thought he got whacked."

"Well good on him," said Rebekah. "I love a nice survival story." Then Rebekah noticed a man wheeling a dolly out of the house at that moment, causing her and Gwen to frown at his presence. "Who the bloody hell is that?"

Hayley turned to the man that stood at the front door. "Kegs out back, right?" she asked as she cleared her throat awkwardly.

The man nodded on his way to his truck to leave. "Yup."

"You sneaky thing," Gwen said with a chuckle.

Rebekah was also amused. "It appears you weren't gonna wait for us to grant you permission to throw a kegger."

"Listen, you all want me safe, fine," Hayley began as she pleaded her case. "I'll do as I'm told. I'll play damsel in the glass tower." She sighed as she watched Rebekah and Gwen share a look. "But tonight's the one night a month that I can meet my family. Now, you could rat me out and send me to my room, or you could help me to throw one hell of a party." She grinned at them.

Rebekah sighed before she nodded. "Might as well, I need the distraction."

"Also, Gwen," Hayley said as she turned to the Immortal witch. "I need you to make the food."

"Why?" Gwen asked, not really knowing what Hayley wanted from her.

"I meant to get someone to make the food, but there's nothing better than a home cooked meal," said Hayley. "And you are a damn good cook."

Gwen flushed at the compliment as she smiled at both women. "Oh, fine."

* * *

Celeste, possessing Sabine's body and passing as her, walked down a street. She noticed she was being followed by the slight disturbance in the magic that surrounded her aura. She turned around from having walked along the sidewalk and found two Originals behind her. The two Originals that shared a lot of their physical features were Elijah and Kol.

"Elijah," Celeste, posing as Sabine, said before she turned to Kol with a smirk. "And Kol. This must be a special occasion, so to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My family needs an ally among the witches in the Quarter, and you've helped us in the past," Elijah said as he approached Celeste with his brother by his side. "Perhaps together we can avoid an unnecessary conflict."

"They may be willing to make a deal, if it were with the _noble_ Elijah," she said and turned to Kol. "They also recognize how you tried to help the witch community a while back, so they _might_ consider a fair deal, but there will never be any peace as long as it involves Klaus."

Elijah sighed, and it almost sounded like a scoff. "Is that what all this is about?" He glanced at Kol. "You want my brother out of town?"

"If you know about my dealings with your kind," Kol began, "then you know how it ended. Klaus isn't someone that will submit to anyone holding the strings."

"I'm just telling you how they feel," said Celeste. "My people are scared. They're desperate, but they're not dumb." She smiled at both of them. "You have a niece on the way." Both Kol and Elijah smirked at the underlined threat that did not settle well with them. "It stands to reason you'd be willing to discuss how to run him out of the city." She turned to Kol. "And your girlfriend cannot go around the city without a coven to answer to; she's a witch, so she should abide to some higher power."

"She _is_ the higher power," Kol said, getting defensive. "Don't blame her for having more power than the combined strength of your coven, so you can take that to your friends and might as well shove your rules right up—"

"Kol!" Elijah scolded as he placed a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder to restrain him, if need be. "Pardon my brother; he gets anxious when he is away from his beloved." The eldest Original turned to Celeste. "I advise you to keep your threats to yourself, especially when they would all go to waste." He led Kol to pass Celeste before he said, "Let's walk together. You can take us on one of your famous tours."

* * *

Camille sat in the pews of the church that her uncle ran, holding Papa Tunde's blade in her hands. She recalled her encounter with the redheaded witch when Kieran had gone to see her during work. Her mind went back to how she treated him in the morning outside the church and regretted her cold demeanor, if only because she was afraid that she might lose another person she loved dearly. And now she found herself in quite the predicament. If she didn't do as the witch instructed her, then she would end up watching her uncle succumb to the same fate that her twin brother did, but she refused to accept this. She only needed to fix this and not allow herself to be like the liars that surrounded her.

Camille heard the doors of the church open and close, followed by footsteps that grew closer to her. She knew it was Klaus, so she picked up a bible and placed it on top of the blade that rested on her lap, hiding it from Klaus' pew as he stood next to her.

"I got your message," Klaus said in greeting. "Where's Kieran now?"

Camille sighed, refusing to meet Klaus' eyes as she stared forward. "In the attic, resting, praying." She took a moment to remember her twin brother. "He's gonna go crazy and die, isn't he?" She clasped her hands together on top of the bible on her lap. "Just like Sean. And we'll still be in this stupid fight because he lied to me about the witches and vampires and you."

"Camille," breathed Klaus as he took a seat next to Cami on the pew. "I can see why you hate me. Truth be told, I have done some dreadful things. But the lies your uncle told were meant to protect you. He is a good man with a loyal heart, and he is your family." He was struck with how soft he was being with her, but he did found himself being reminded of talking to Gwen. "As for these witches, their attack on Kieran should be proof enough they are the enemy," he said with a scowl. "In that, we are united."

Klaus stood up and was about to go to the sacristy, Camille also standing up behind him with a tight grip on the handle of Papa Tunde's blade.

"Klaus?" she breathed and kept the knife down. Klaus turned around and saw the blade in her hand, trying to figure out what she meant to do as he recognized the blade in her hand that was like the one that belonged to Papa Tunde. Not a moment later, she handed the blade to Klaus and he took it.

"This is Papa Tunde's blade," Klaus said as his eyes and hands inspected the white blade.

"A witch gave it to me," Camille explained. "She said it would cause untold pain and torment, even to an Original. She said if I stuck it in your heart, she'd heal Kieran."

Klaus sighed, keeping his face a blank mask as he scrutinized her with his eyes. "And yet, you chose to reject their offer."

"Maybe if I were more like you, I could do it," she began as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance, "but I'm not—"

"A monster," Klaus sighed, finishing her sentence.

"I'm not _stupid_ ," Camille corrected with a tilt of her head to the side. "If there's a war going on, I want to be on the winning side." She cleared her throat and asked, "Can't Gwen remove it?"

"I doubt it," said Klaus. "My brother, Kol, would have a better chance removing it. A hex can only be overcome through loopholes or if the witch who cast it decides to take it off. Not even Gwen can remove it without a cost." He smirked at her. "Magic's tricky like that."

"Well, can't your brother do something?" asked Camille, guessing he was referring to Kol.

Klaus shook his head. "He's with Elijah dealing with the witches, I doubt he'll be available, but I can send him a message and ask around for that nasty hex on the poor priest."

Camille nodded. "All right."

"Let's see what we can do about saving your uncle, shall we?" Klaus said as he smiled at her, getting a small nod from Camille.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the Plantation just after dusk, the Crescent werewolves had just transformed back into humans from having spent a month in their wolf forms. The bare forms of the werewolves approached the line of clothes that Hayley had put up for them earlier, having gotten everything ready for their arrival. They also carefully pick out a piece of clothing and put them on to ward off the chill of the night.

Inside the Plantation House, Rebekah was in the room next to the kitchen as she held her phone to her ear, anxiously waiting for Marcel to pick up his phone. He had no contacted her all day, so she had no idea about his progress on finding Genevieve. Ultimately she had to settle for leaving a threatening voicemail, having left Gwen alone in the kitchen cooking crawfish.

The witch was unaware of Rebekah's predicament, too focused on her cooking that she even had to admit that smelled delicious. She placed the spoon she was using to stir the food and wiped her hands on the apron she wrapped around her waist. The apron covered a woven oversized mini dress that featured an al-lover ornate print of rust and blue colors. It had a round neckline with a self-tie that was loose and a keyhole cutout, three-quarter raglan sleeves, and a shirring hem detail. Her signature necklace was secured around her throat, and she also wore brown booties to match her outfit. She went over to oven and, after having gotten a pair of mittens, took out an apple pie she had baked.

Gwen stopped with the pie in her hands when she saw a shirtless Crescent wolf enter the kitchen. She had to admit that he was handsome with blond, medium-length hair. He also had blond facial hair and green eyes. And yet, she seemed to have a type, which was Kol. This man was a great contrast from Kol's features, which was also a turn off for her. She was just glad that he at least wore a pair of pants, or she would have cracked a joke about his werewolf nature. She shook her head and imagined that Kol was rubbing off on her, not that she minded, but she didn't want to be as rude as her boyfriend.

"Hello," Gwen greeted with a small smile. "You must be one of Hayley's relatives."

"Hi," said the werewolf. He looked her over and, taking note of her blonde hair, thought she was the female Original. "I'm Oliver."

"I'm Gwen Pierson," she said, to which Oliver nodded as he realized she was the witch they had mentioned to him, which left him with a decision to make. Gwen realized he avoided her question in favor of looking her over, which was quite flattering, but did not feel comfortable by it. "It's nice to meet you." She placed the pie on the island of the kitchen, turning her attention back to Oliver before extending her hand to shake his. Oliver didn't waste a minute before taking her hand in his, but he only squeezed hers while grinning. "I see you're a flirty fellow."

"You don't even know the half of it," he said as Gwen took that moment to snatch her hand back from his hold.

Gwen chuckled nervously as he kept staring at her with a lopsided grin. "Can I get you Hayley or anything?"

Oliver grinned at her. "You're cute."

Gwen couldn't control the blush that dusted her cheeks at the sudden compliment. "Thanks, I guess," she said, chuckling awkwardly. She grew even more nervous when he approached her. "What are you doing?"

"Want to get to know you better," he said as he went to touch her arm, but Gwen took a step back to avoid him touching her.

"I should really go get Hayley," said Gwen.

"Why?" he countered.

Rebekah entered the room after having tried to contact Marcel, and was startled by the blond man that was a mere foot away from Gwen. Her eyes roamed over Oliver's bare skin, liking what she saw and deemed him quite attractive. "Oh," Rebekah announced, causing Gwen and Oliver to turn their heads to her. "I beg your pardon, but that's my brother's girl." She might have done so in order to gain Oliver's attention, but she was also protective of Gwen at the moment, so she wanted him away from her. "I don't think she likes her men furry."

"Rebekah," Gwen chided her, but Rebekah merely shrugged nonchalantly.

"She ain't complaining," said Oliver, giving Gwen another smirk over his shoulder as he turned to Rebekah with narrowed eyes. "You're one of them, aren't you, an Original?"

"Yes," Rebekah said with her head held high. "You might want to say that with some more respect." She paused and glanced at Gwen before looking to Oliver. "I suppose you'll be wanting Hayley."

"Or I could just talk to you," Oliver said, making his decision as he talked to Rebekah. "I'm Oliver. You're Rebekah, right?"

"Correct," said Rebekah, and then turned her head to shout into the house. "Hayley, the party's here!"

Gwen raised an eyebrow at how Oliver shifted his flirting from her to Rebekah. She honestly found it odd how he was being rather friendly with both of them. She shook her head and thought that Klaus's paranoia was rubbing off on her. Then she realized that traits of the Mikaelson family members were rubbing off on her. Gwen just hoped that the night would stay on a good note.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Finally, it is revealed who will be infatuated with Gwen. I had three people who guessed right and had a sneak peek, except for one because it was a guest and I couldn't contact them. For future occasions such as this, please make it possible for me to contact you so that you can receive your prize.**

 **Also, what do you guys think about it being Oliver? He has the right attitude to push Kol's buttons for some fun. Remember to review, Fave or Follow! I would like to know your thoughts about this.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **See ya later!**


	30. Chapter 29

**Hello, hello! Here is yet another chapter for you guys to enjoy! We have officially entered the chapter of Sabine's revenge, which I hope you guys enjoy. Things won't be the same after this part of the series is said and done, so I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

* * *

Most of the werewolves that belonged to the Crescent Wolf Clan had moved the party into the backyard, which had been decorated by dozens of candles and strings of lights, giving it a cozy feel. Some werewolves had taken to playing instruments and provide the music for the party, while the others danced to the music their companions brought to life.

Gwen smiled as she handed a female werewolf a piece of pie, enjoying the party as she swayed to it and wished Kol was there with her to enjoy the party. She then made herself remember to go dancing with Kol, he was a very good dancer and she loved dancing, something her mother passed on to her. She laughed as she watched the people dance and enjoy themselves. Unknown to her, Oliver was off to the side, smiling as he watched her dance with a cup filled with beer in his hand. He had been watching her all night, his eyes always managing to find her and he honestly found she was quite beautiful.

Deciding to enjoy himself before getting to business, Oliver approached Gwen and stood beside her. "How do you know Hayley?"

Gwen chuckled. "The baby's father is my best friend. His younger brother is my boyfriend. Rebekah is my female best friend, and the older brother is a close friend." She snorted. "It's a weird thing."

Oliver nodded at the information, and then asked, "Want to dance?" Gwen smiled up at him with a frown. He motioned to where everybody was dancing. "I bet you're a good dancer."

"My mom used to teach, so I kind of have to be," Gwen teased before she nodded. She found no harm in dancing with him, if only to enjoy the party and not look like a sore spot, so she took the cup from his hands and placed it on the table before leading him to the dancefloor. "I hope you don't have two left feet." He smiled and tried to get their bodies together, but Gwen only swayed away from his grasp as she continued to dance. "I'm quite taken, and it doesn't feel right."

"How come?" Oliver asked as he danced along with her, ignoring those around them. "He's not here, might as well enjoy yourself."

Gwen shook her head. "You seem like a good guy, but I don't like stringing anyone along, especially when I am very happy with my significant other."

"It still seems strange," said Oliver.

Gwen frowned. "What does?"

"A witch and an Original vampire," Oliver said as he tried to grasp the thought of a vampire and a witch being together, especially a witch he was quite interested in. "I thought they were mortal enemies."

"I'm not a traditional witch," Gwen explained and grew tired of dancing. She glanced at Rebekah standing alone near a table and stopped dancing, prompting Oliver to stop with her. "Why don't you ask Rebekah to dance?" He glanced at the lonely Original. "She's got decades ahead of me with dancing, and I need to check the food."

"It was nice meeting you, Gwen," he said with a smirk as he watched her walk away, receiving a wave with a smile in return. Squaring his shoulders, Oliver approached Rebekah and tapped her shoulder. Without saying much, he took her hand and pulled her to the dancefloor, but he noticed she was not really dancing. "Come on, you can do better than that!"

"Sorry, I've got a burdened brain tonight," Rebekah said before she tried to leave, but Oliver stopped her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," he chanted as he took Rebekah's hands and slowly coerced her to dance with him. Tonight is not the night for burdens. It's to celebrate. It's to enjoy life for the few hours that we get to live it. It's to hug our friends, our family, and to dance our asses off!"

Hayley watched as the party went on, smiling at the many faces that were enjoying the party she had thrown for them, her lost family, even if they were distant or pack mates. She walked back inside the house and joined Gwen in cleaning up the house, if only to make it less to clean up later.

"Seems you got an admirer," Hayley teased as she grinned at Gwen. "I noticed him ogling you from across the room."

Gwen rolled her eyes playfully. "He seems nice." She smiled at the thought of Kol. "I don't like being a stick in the mud, but it doesn't feel right to do something so intimate with someone that is not Kol."

"It's just dancing," said Hayley as she threw a cup into a trash bag.

"To others, yes," Gwen sighed as she cleared a table. She finally realized why she felt it was so wrong to dance with someone else. "To me, well, it's more than that. My parents met through dancing. My father never liked it and he went to my mother's classes after he drenched her on a bad day. They fell in love dancing, and it seems that it's the same with Kol and me." She glanced at Hayley as she bit her bottom lip. "I don't mind having a good time or spending quality time with a male friend, but there are things that are out of the question."

"I didn't know," Hayley mumbled, huffing as she thought of the meeting of Gwen's parents. "They seem like good people, your parents."

Gwen gulped down the lump that was beginning to grow in her throat. "They were, so was my sister."

"How old was she?" asked Hayley.

Gwen forced a smile on her lips. "Twelve, she would have twenty by now. I stopped celebrating their birthdays a few years back, it hurt too much." She cleared her throat. "Now, I take some time every year to visit my home and their graves. My mother would be turning in her grave if she found me still hung up over them, she believed in life going on and all of that."

"This is good," Hayley said with a smile, "us bonding. I didn't think we'd manage."

"I can be a real bitch," Gwen laughed. "I just get protective of the few people I have that I love, so just thanks for putting up with it."

"No problem," Hayley said with a smile. "Let's just focus on getting this house cleaned up before our keepers scold us like some teenagers hosting a frat party."

Gwen laughed, but their laughter was interrupted by the arrival of a werewolf. They turned to him and found him smiling. He had shaggy, curly brown hair with olive skin and brown eyes. His gaze was focused on Hayley, something that Gwen noticed.

"I seriously doubt you invited us here to wait on us," he said, but paused for a beat. "You're Hayley." He turned to Gwen. "You must be Gwen." Gwen nodded before he continued. "I'm Jackson."

Gwen noticed that he wanted to have some alone time with Hayley, so she decided to leave them alone, if only to tease Hayley for having teased her about Oliver. "I'm gonna go find Rebekah." Hayley's eyes focused on her, telling her to stay where she was, but Gwen smirked. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Bring more bags," Hayley yelled after Gwen and watched the blonde disappear before she focused on the man in front of her.

"It's nice to see you again," said Jackson.

Hayley frowned before she realized who he was after a minute. "You're the wolf who's been watching me."

"I gotta keep my eye on you," he said and leaned his head forward to point at her belly with his gaze, "precious cargo and all."

"Right," Hayley sighed as she placed a hand over her swollen abdomen. "Got to protect the miracle baby."

"No, that's not what I meant," he said, still smiling at her, but feeling nervous. "I don't care about the baby." He realized his mistake when he saw her eyebrow rise in annoyance. "Sorry, that came out wrong." Hayley glanced over his shoulder and around them, waiting for a Mikaelson to rip him apart for having said that, but also wishing Gwen would hurry up and get back. She was still not quite comfortable being alone with a man who knew too much about her. "I mean, of course I care. You're a _Labonair_. A baby, it's a big deal. But personally, my interest is in you."

Hayley kept her face composed and stoic. "You don't even know me."

"Our parents knew each other," Jackson explained, expecting her to understand what he was telling her. "They were of the same people, but not the same bloodline." "Hayley did not understand why he seemed to expect her to simply ignore everything on account that their parents knew one another when she never met her birth parents, but she was willing to hear him out. "Now, you know how pack hierarchy works, right? Everybody has their part to play, and," he sighed as he fidgeted with his hands nervously, "we had our part, too."

Hayley frowned at this. "What part was that?"

Jackson sighed. "You were supposed to be my wife."

* * *

Celeste, residing in Sabine's body, continued to take Elijah and Kol on a tour throughout the city, even after the sun had set. She didn't mind, considering it was all part of her plan to finally be a step ahead of the Mikaelson family, also to satisfy her hunger for revenge that had grown even more as the years went by. Still, she knew she had to be careful; one Original brother was easy to handle with the history they shared together, but another was an added trouble.

"So, this next part of town is one of the few areas where any of the original French architecture remains," Celeste said as they walked into an empty street of the Quarter. "The most of the buildings were destroyed in the 1700s when the city burned for the first time." She noticed both brothers were silent as they followed her, contributing nothing but silence. "Am I putting you boys to sleep?"

"It is quite boring," Kol said as he groaned in annoyance. "Can we get to the fun part?"

"Patience, brother." Elijah sighed as he righted the front of his jacket before turning to Celeste. "As surprising as you might find this, it's not every day that someone asks you to betray your own brother," Elijah said as he stood in front of Celeste with a determined look on his face, while Kol remained a foot behind him, watching Elijah interact with Celeste. "Celeste."

Kol frowned at Elijah. "What?"

Celeste' grin grew into a smirk, impressed with Elijah's perceptiveness. "How did you know?"

"As Davina was drawing your likeness," he began, "I dared to imagine that your presence was near." He paced around Celeste, seemingly cornering her like a predator does to its prey. "And when Sophie discovered that there was no magic in your remains, I wondered…" he paused, which allowed Kol to understand what Elijah was getting to, "could you have possibly cheated death by using your power to place your essence into the body of another and, if so, then who?" He recalled the night he arrived to New Orleans and his first encounter with the supposed Sabine. "And then, I recalled the lovely Sabine."

"The visions of Nik's kid precipitated the death of the last Elder of your coven," Kol began as he shared his thoughts. "You took advantage of the Elder's death to take control of the Harvest ritual."

"You have been playing a very long game, indeed," said Elijah. "But to what end?"

Celeste stepped closer to Elijah and kissed him, which prompted Kol to frown and look away. "I did not sign up for this."

When Celeste pulled away from Elijah, she made sure her lipstick was left behind on Elijah's lips. She took as much as she could from the kiss, a small part of her that she had destroyed long ago finding peace for having had one last kiss with the man that had held her heart and soul in the palm of his hand. But she made sure to not linger on those memories as she looked up at Elijah, stepping back.

"Oh, Elijah, my lost love," Celeste said as she grinned at him a malicious smile. She watched as Elijah seemed to realize that she had done something to him. "After all this time, don't you understand?"

"'Lijah?" Kol asked as he noticed Elijah sway on his feet. He went to approach his brother, but Celeste raised her hand and threw a powder at Kol's face, rendering him with the same enchantment she had placed on Elijah. "My dear, that was not smart." He went to lunge at Celeste, but found himself dizzy and losing strength.

"I died because of Klaus," Celeste said rather calmly, but Elijah saw the rage and darkness that her eyes held; centuries worth of fury. "And even after all his vindictive lies about witches led to my death, you stood by him, and all because of your vow." She scoffed. "'Always and forever'." She mocked him and turned to Kol. "I would have expected you to understand, after all, your brother has daggered you so many times that you never quite lived."

"What have you done to us?" Elijah slurred as he panted and turned to find Kol had already dropped to his knees in exhaustion. He needed to take care of Celeste and keep his brother alive. "Tell me, now!"

"Oh, it's a simple enchantment, one your brother should know all about," Celeste said as she watched both brothers struggle against the weakness she forced upon them, grinning when she saw them both on the ground as they tried to fight against her power. "You needn't worry. I'm not here to kill you, Elijah, or your brother. I'm here to teach you the error of your ways. 'Always and forever' was the greatest mistake of your life."

* * *

At the Mikaelson Compound, Marcel had Sophie perform a locator spell to find the witches that had taken the place of the Harvest girls in the ritual and bring them back, especially Davina. Not to mention the promise he made to Rebekah to find Genevieve and silence her before she said anything. Sophie was flustered as she tried to focus, realizing her magic was fading and had no strength to even perform a locator spell. Monique stood by them and watched her aunt, her eyes having surveyed her aunt's actions ever since she came back to life.

"I'm weaker than I thought." Sophie said as she kept her hand rotating above a map of the French Quarter.

"You want the deal, Soph, you gotta hold up your end," he said, recalling the deal he made with Sophie to help her and Monique leave New Orleans with the resources to start over somewhere far away. "I'm on a clock."

Sophie pushed herself and her magic, which allowed the sand to suddenly move to a location. "It's working."

"That's one." Marcel was frustrated. He couldn't count himself lucky enough to find the one witch to be Genevieve and also the one that had taken Davina's place. He needed to make sure that it would all be taken care of before Klaus caught on to him. "I need all three."

Sophie sighed, tired from having forced her magic so much. "I'm giving you whatever I can pick up."

"Keep trying," Marcel said through clenched teeth.

"Or don't." Klaus made his presence known as he approached Marcel, Sophie and Monique, but made his way towards Monique. His plan to compel Father Kieran to resist his hex had gone wrong, so he had no choice but to force the witches to bend to his will, even if it meant harming someone. "Who needs a locator spell when I have all the leverage I need right here?" Klaus grabbed Monique and sped away with her using his heightened speed.

"No!" Sophie screamed as she helplessly watched Klaus disappear with Monique. "Monique!"

* * *

"You poisoned me with a kiss," Elijah said from the ground as he stared up at Celeste.

Kol snorted before releasing a groan as he lied on his back, trying to will away the pain that coursed throughout his body. "Oh, the irony isn't missed."

"We may have time for more." Celeste grinned. "But first, I'm going to cure you of your greatest flaw," she scoffed, while Elijah remained on his knees as he fought to get air into his lungs, "this _absurd_ devotion to your lunatic family."

"Your anger is with me," Elijah said as he fought through Celeste's spell, making sure he was in front of Kol as his instincts of the protective older brother took control. "Now, if you have come here seeking revenge—"

Celeste cut him off with a glare. "Oh, I'll have my revenge!" She glared at Elijah, almost snarling at him. "I'll be starting with Klaus. He is gonna know pain and torment like he's never felt before, unless you choose to save him, of course."

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" Kol growled as he managed to sit up, feeling the effects of the enchantment leave him.

"Oh, this applies to you as well, so pay attention," said Celeste. "Then there's Rebekah, your _tragic_ sister. She's about to find herself in quite the predicament. You could both split up and save your siblings." She smirked before she said, "But then that leaves your lovers in jeopardy."

Kol glared up at her. " _What_?"

Elijah panicked at the thought of Hayley being in danger. "No. No, no."

Celeste chuckled. "Oh, those poor girls." She clicked her tongue. "They have no idea how dangerous it is to be loved by the likes of you." She shrugged. "Oh, well, with your bodies weakened by my spell, neither of you won't be able to save them all." She raised a single index finger. "You'll both recover with just enough time to choose one each," she explained as if it was an exciting game, placing a hand to her cheek as she pretended to wonder. "Who will it be?" She then started to walk away. "I can't wait to find out."

"Your luck with women astounds me, brother," Kol wheezed out as he fought through Celeste's spell. "I can't wait to rip her head off."

Elijah panted as he loosened the tie around his neck to have better access for oxygen. "We have priorities."

"I know," Kol mumbled as he thought back to Gwen telling him she would be at the Plantation with Hayley all day. He tried to think of a way to also save his brother and sister, but the math didn't add up. "She's right, 'Lijah. We only have enough strength to find Gwen and Hayley, but they didn't even give us a choice in the first place." He groaned as he rose up to his knees. "Their targets are Nik and Bekah for some reason, placing the other two in danger ensured them more time to capture our siblings."

* * *

Klaus walked through an empty street of the French Quarter as he held Monique Deveraux in tow, dragging her along with him in his mission to bend the witches to his will. "Witches of the French Quarter!" he announced, keeping Monique in a tight grip. "I have with me Monique Deveraux. What a shame it would be were I forced to send her back to the death she's just escaped! Should you wish to prevent this, bring me the witch Bastianna!"

"The hell you think you're doing?" Marcel said as he appeared from an alley, approaching Klaus, who held Papa Tunde's blade in one hand and Monique in the other.

Klaus shrugged. "I'm opening negotiations."

"You know _my_ rules," Marcel said as he stalked towards Klaus. "We do not hurt kids."

"Spare me the hypocrisy of your moral code," Klaus scoffed as he held the blade to Monique's throat, but the girl kept quiet as she watched everything unfold before her. "It didn't stop you from killing Monique's mother." Klaus turned away from Marcel yelled down the street, "Bastianna!" He pulled the knife away from Monique as he surveyed the area for any movement. "I know you're close. The stench of witches hangs in the air. Mark my words! I will end this girl with the very blade you meant for me."

"I'm not saying it again," Marcel insisted. "We do not kill kids!"

Feeling defiant, Klaus held the blade near Monique's throat as if to slice it open, but Marcel sped up to him and pushed the blade away from Monique. The young witch stepped away as the vampires fought, Klaus dropping Papa Tunde's blade with no intention of using it against Marcel. Klaus quickly gained the upper hand after some scuffling and snapped Marcel's neck, dropping the younger vampire's body unceremoniously to the ground.

Klaus stared at Marcel's still form. "I decide who lives and dies here, Marcellus."

The Original turned around to continue with his plan, but was suddenly met with Sophie, who had Papa Tunde's abandoned blade in her hand. She quickly stabbed him in the heart with the deadly blade, which caused Klaus to roar in pain. As he groaned, the blade embedded itself deep into his chest as he tried to pull it out, but the pain that began to run through his body was enough to slow his movements. After a moment of screaming in agony, he fell to the ground unconscious from the pain.

Bastianna appeared out of the shadows and joined them, staring down at Klaus' body. "I'll take it from here."

* * *

Rebekah and Oliver disappeared into the woods after the party had died down some, deciding to seek the privacy in nature. Rebekah had decided to take advantage of Oliver to clear her mind, making out with him to push away any cloud of trouble form her mind, if only for a while. She frowned when Oliver pulled away with a guilty look on his face that she did not like.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said as he stepped away from her. "I really do like you, but this is the deal we made." He sighed as he slowly felt the pull of the moon coming back for him. "I especially like your friend, but this needs to be done."

"What deal?" Rebekah panicked. "With whom?" She then thought about what he had just told her. "What about Gwen? What have you done to her?"

"They wanted her out of the way for a while, but," he began as he pulled out a syringe from his pocket, "This"—he waved the syringe in front of her—"will have to do. They promised not to kill either of you, but you both needed to be as weak as possible."

"Rebekah!"

They both turned their heads to where the voice was coming from, a voice that clearly belonged to Gwen to their sensitive hearing. Rebekah remained against the tree with the intention to go after Gwen, but stopped when Oliver backed away into the woods in the direction Gwen's voice was coming from, leaving her behind with the transformed werewolves growling ferociously.

Rebekah groaned. "Kol's going to kill me." She waited a moment longer before the wolves lunged.

* * *

Elijah and Kol gasped awake, sitting up from the ground with groans. They tried to will away the pain from Celeste's enchantment, fighting its effects to be able to move without much problem, especially with the threat that loomed over them both.

Kol snorted. "Your girl is a wanker."

"I understand, brother," said Elijah as he rubbed his throbbing temple. "I find no point in you reminding me."

"I'll kill them all," Kol snarled as he braced himself to stand up, but took a moment to gather enough strength to do so. "If they so much as breathe in Gwen's direction, I'll slaughter the lot of them and paint their family's gravestones with their blood."

Elijah sighed. "I'd tell you to refrain from such atrocity, but I might just join you."

Elijah's phone buzzed from a call. Kol groaned as he stood up and stretched his limbs, while Elijah hurriedly reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his phone. He saw it was Hayley calling and remained on the ground from still being weak.

"Hayley," Elijah said, worried for her safety with his breathing still labored from the spell that was slowly leaving his body.

" _Elijah, something's going on with the witches_ ," Hayley said as she paced around the Plantation House with Jackson following behind her.

"Listen to me," Elijah said as he took a deep breath. "You were right, Celeste is back. Niklaus, Rebekah, Miss Gwen—you're all in danger."

"Ask her where Gwen is," Kol said as he walked towards Elijah.

* * *

"Rebekah!" Gwen called as she hugged her arms around her body to keep warm, the chill of the night sending shivers throughout her body. She trudged around the woods, having left the Plantation behind when she noticed the werewolves begin to leave, so she feared that Rebekah was alone with them with the chance of coming face-to-face with their feral form. "Bex, where are you?" She groaned as she stopped. "I get that you want some, but making me worry is not a good way of getting some," she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly, Gwen yelped at the sudden sting in her neck. She placed a hand to the right side of her neck and turned around to find Oliver with an empty syringe in his hand. She stepped away from him with a glare on her face.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said as he dropped the object in his hand.

Gwen narrowed her eyes at him, her head becoming fuzzy. "Where's Rebekah?"

"She told us to do it," he answered.

Gwen frowned. "What?"

"You have bad witch friends," said Oliver.

"I don't have any witch friends!" Gwen panicked as she felt herself growing weak, her knees almost buckling, but Oliver went over to her and caught her in his arms. He held her around her waist as she gripped the shirt over his chest as she looked up at him. "What did you do to me?"

"She said it was to sedate your magic for a while," he explained as he held her to her feet by keeping her in his arms. His eyes roamed over her face and wished they were this close under different circumstances. "They needed time to deal with some things."

"Who?" Gwen asked.

"She said her name was Celeste," he answered.

Gwen had no strength to argue, so she dropped her head into his chest as he held her close, his warmth keeping the cold air away from her. They both turned their heads to where they heard a twig snap, finding a few werewolves approach them in their wolf forms, their yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Oliver cursed in his mind for having been so careless to stay out I the woods when they were in their most vulnerable form. He knew they wouldn't harm him, for he would soon join them, but Gwen was in danger.

Gwen raised her hand towards the werewolves, but found that her magic was not manifesting itself. She was too weak to be able to perform any magic without running the risk of falling unconscious after handling one of them, which would guarantee her death.

"We need to run," he whispered to Gwen. She glared up at him. "If you want to make it out alive, you'll need to trust me."

Gwen debated her options, wishing she had enough strength to fight her way out of the woods, but she knew she needed his help to survive. She found he was quite sincere in his words, even when he apologized, so she only nodded before they dashed away from the snarling wolves.

* * *

 **End of chapter! Hey, so I had fun writing this chapter, especially Gwen and Oliver. I'm looking forward to more of them together, especially with Kol around to react to this. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I will not like writing the next chapters of this part of the series, what with the rift that will be created between the Mikaelsons, which also includes Kol and Gwen.**

 **Remember to review your love, hate and opinions.**

 **See ya later!**


	31. Chapter 30

**Merry Christmas! This is my gift to you guys to enjoy. It's been a long year and I hope that the next is filled with nothing but happiness for you all. So enjoy this chapter and thank you guys for the amazing support you guys have given me. You guys are awesome!**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

* * *

At the Plantation House, Hayley had just finished talking with Jackson and was determined to leave when he told her they had unknowingly made a deal with a witch she did not know. The door claps shut by a gust of wind as Hayley, still on the phone with Elijah, turned to Jackson. Unknown to them, Batianna, Celeste and Genevieve had created a boundary spell to keep Hayley inside the house without a chance to escape.

"What's going on?" asked Jackson.

"It's a trap," Hayley answered as she held the phone to her ear. "I didn't make a deal with any witch."

Jackson's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"

"Hayley, you have to find Rebekah and Miss Gwen," Elijah told her. "You stay with them until I get there."

"They're not with me," said Hayley. She ehard some scuffling and protests before a voice went through the phone.

"Where are they?" asked Kol's voice, which was too calm for her liking.

"In the woods, I think," she answered. "Gwen went to look for Rebekah a while ago." Instead of an answer from Kol, she heard a swooshing noise and Elijah's voice appeared once more through the phone.

"Go to Rebekah and Miss Gwen," Elijah insisted.

"Elijah, it's a spell," Hayley informed him. "They're trapping us inside."

Hayley continued to try to work the doorknob of the door that led out to the backyard of the Plantation, but the sudden appearance of fire startled her and she stepped back with a surprised yelp. She dropped the call as she watched the kitchen burst into flames. The fire grew around the perimeter of the Plantation House, trapping Hayley inside the house with Jackson as the flames grew in size. When Hayley and Jackson tried to go through another door, they found they couldn't because of a boundary spell placed by the resurrected witches.

Hayley turned to Jackson after they were cornered in the living room. "We have to get out of here."

Jackson tried to break through the window with the piano stool, but it shattered upon impact, leaving the window intact. The flames continued to grow inside the house, torching the curtains and carpet and everything in its way. Jackson grabbed a tablecloth from an end table and poured the water from a vase of flowers onto it before handing it to Hayley when she had started to cough from the smoke.

"Here." He held the soaked cloth to her nose and mouth. "Breathe through this."

Hayley did as she was told, but continued to cough from the little smoke that did reach her lungs. The fire continued growing in size, burning its way up the walls toward the ceiling. Hayley and Jackson stared helplessly as the flames slowly made their way towards them with the fire alarm beeping furiously. Suddenly, a window shattered as Elijah burst through it by using his body. He quickly grabbed Hayley and sped out of the burning building to allow her to breathe clean air before setting her down on the driveway of the house with enough distance to keep her from harm and to allow her to calm down.

"Where's Rebekah?" Elijah asked her, knowing that Kol had gone off to find Gwen first, so he needed to start the search for Rebekah.

"I don't know," Hayley coughed as she shook her head, fighting to regain control of her breathing. "I think she went off with one of them and Gwen went to find her." She looked at Elijah urgently. "Elijah, my friend is still in there."

Elijah did not waste time in saving the werewolf that had been trapped with Hayley and left him with her to start looking for Rebekah, his destination being the woods.

* * *

Gwen yelped when she tripped on the root of a tree and fell on the ground. Oliver went to help her stand on her feet, but he knew it was too late when he saw the wolves had caught up to them. Gwen sat up as her breathing turned into pants from having been running in a weak state. She turned to the wolves and sighed. It was quite different when one handled other supernatural creatures than handling a beast that had no fear or qualms about who its prey was, which frightened her. They saw one of them lunged towards them with its teeth out, eliciting a scream of fright form her.

Before either of them knew it, the wolf was thrown back into a tree by a blurry figure. The wolf landed with a cracking sound against the tree before two more wolves attacked, which resulted in them only managing to bite the figure once and having their necks snapped after some difficulty to wrap his arms around their necks. The remaining wolf sped away, knowing it was not wise to linger when it knew it did not stand a chance on its own.

Gwen and Oliver stood up, but the former smiled when she recognized the figure. "Kol," she breathed as she struggled against the exhaustion in her body.

Kol turned around and revealed his disheveled state. Gwen frowned at the werewolf bite on his right shoulder, blood oozing out and staining his clothes. The Original looked her over and sighed in relief when he saw that she only seemed tired with not a scratch on her. Kol went to open his mouth to voice his relief, but his eyes found Oliver a step behind Gwen. He took a sniff of him and growled when he found he was a werewolf, causing his blood to boil at Oliver's close proximity. In a blink of an eye, Kol had grabbed Oliver by his throat and pinned him against a tree.

"Messing with my girl is a big no-no," Kol hissed into Oliver's face. "I might as well send a message to your people, so they'll know about that one fact by littering the swamp with bits and pieces of you." He smirked. "How does that sound?"

"Kol, stop," Gwen said as she appeared next to him and held onto his arm that was by his side. Oliver glanced at her as he struggled to breathe, hoping that she could save him from this predicament when he had only tried to keep her alive. "He helped me get away."

"He was part of their plan," argued Kol as he applied more pressure on Oliver's throat, the werewolf gasping for air.

Gwen stood in front of Kol and grabbed his face to get him to connect his eyes with her own. "I am _fine_." She knew that he was acting like this because she had been in danger and still had adrenaline to burn before he could calm down, but she didn't want Oliver to die when he had helped her, even though it was also his fault she had been so helpless. "He helped keep me safe." Kol scoffed. "We have to find the others, and you have a werewolf bite on your shoulder that needs to be looked at."

"Fine," Kol bit out as he threw Oliver to the side before drawing Gwen into his arms. He glared at the coughing werewolf over Gwen's head that was nestled into his chest. "I'd run if I were you." A second later, Oliver had disappeared, but not before stealing a glance at Gwen's weak form as he felt the pull to change into his other form once more.

"You found me," Gwen sighed as she looked up at him with a smile, her hands resting on his chest.

"I'll always find you." He smiled as he moved away her hair from the right side of her neck to find it red from the syringe Oliver had used on her. He frowned when he recognized it was a needle wound. "What happened?"

"The witches wanted me weak for a while," Gwen said as she leaned into Kol's embrace. "I'm starting to get the feeling that they don't like me very much."

Kol snorted as he hoisted her up into his arms. "You think?" he asked before speeding away to take Gwen to a safe place to join Elijah in his search for Rebekah.

* * *

Elijah found the place where Rebekah was attacked in the woods with Kol standing behind him after they had made sure that Hayley and Gwen were safe in the Compound. Even with a werewolf bite, Kol was determined to find his siter. He had a bad feeling that soon, she would be in great danger, should they take too long to find her. They came across evidence of a fight as they inspected the dead bodies of a few wolves that clearly told them Rebekah had fought them. Elijah knelt down and picked up Rebekah's discarded jacket from the ground.

"We're too late," said Elijah.

"They were just here," Kol argued as he looked around to see if he could find tracks.

Elijah glanced at Kol's wound and the sweat that was appearing on his forehead. "You need to tend to that."

"Gwen will take care of it when we get back," said Kol as he looked around the area, but found no clue as to where Rebekah could've been. "There's no trace of her."

"Celeste wants to destroy our family," Elijah said as he frowned. "I can't imagine how, considering that Niklaus hid the White Oak Stake. Given his paranoia, I doubt anyone knows where it is."

"And Gwen has the daggers, so they can't play around with those," said Kol. Elijah frowned at this and glanced at Kol with a questioning look. Kol sighed. "She might have taken them without Klaus' consent, but she has no intention of using them on us."

Elijah nodded. "I know she won't. She would never use them."

"And what does that leave?" Kol asked himself.

They grew alarmed as Celeste appeared behind them, followed by Bastianna and Genevieve. Elijah and Kol stood beside one another as they stared at the three witches with hardened eyes. Neither brother was in the mood for more games from them.

"Missing something?" Celeste mocked, while the remaining Mikaelson brothers glared at her threateningly, but she laughed off their reactions. "You won't hurt me. I'm the only one alive who can break the curse on Hayley's family." She nodded towards the youngest of the redheaded witches. "And Genevieve knows where your sister is." She nodded to the older-looking witch. "Bastianna has Klaus tucked away someplace safe." She smirked. "He's suffering horribly, I might add, and all because you chose to save your lovers instead of your own blood."

Elijah and Kol lunged towards them, but they were stopped. While Celeste held Elijah with an outstretched hand, Genevieve did the same with Kol. They brought them to their knees as they screamed in pain from the pressure of the magic.

"What a horrific ending to your pathetic, diseased family," Celeste said as more pain was applied to both brothers. "I guess 'always' isn't forever, after all."

Celeste broke a few bones to incapacitate Elijah for a while before she left, followed by Bastianna, but Genevieve stayed behind as she approached Kol. The younger of the brothers growled as pain still surged throughout his body under Genevieve's influence, leaving Elijah to watch as he waited for his bones to heal before he could helpe his brother. He was too disoriented and his mind was too dizzy for him to try to even get up from the ground.

"I bring a present to you from an old flame," Genevieve said as she kept Kol still and crouched down in front of him. "You have a lot of angry girls itching to make you pay."

Kol laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific, dear," he panted, keeping the smirk on his lips in defiance. "I've had a lot of conquests, all of whom want me dead."

"You remember Mary-Alice, correct?" At this, Kol's smirk faltered. "She's missed you very much, so I promised to do her a solid before I was brought back." She placed a single finger on his forehead, causing Kol to yell in pain. "Take joy of the few moments you have left with your witch." Her curse was taking hold over his body, bringing a smile to Genevieve's lips as she finished. "After the full moon wanes, you won't be able to resist the urge to rip her throat open."

"If you so much as breathe her way, I will kill you," Kol snarled.

"You are quite handsome." Genevieve grinned. "But you won't, you'll be too busy on another prey." She left then, leaving behind the two Mikaelsons that had been used as punching bags all night long.

* * *

Camille walked with Kieran out of St. Anne's Church. The blonde woman was growing anxious the longer Klaus took to get back, which meant that her uncle had less time to survive. Camille groaned as she dialed Klaus once more for the umpteenth time as she worried that something had gone wrong with the witches.

"Come on, come on, come on," Camille said as frustration consumed her. "Klaus, where are you?"

They both came to a sudden halt when they were met with Bastianna appearing out of the shadows. The older witch smiled at the pair and said, "Mr. Mikaelson is currently indisposed."

"What happened?" Camille glared at Bastianna, growing angry at the thought of Klaus being in danger, which left her with one more person to worry about. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing," Bastianna said innocently with a small shrug of her shoulders. "Someone completed your task for you."

Camille's eyes widened, hope rising from within her. "If you got what you wanted, then my uncle—"

"Will die soon and in great anguish," Bastianna finished for her. "You see, dear, you failed to hold up your end of our bargain." Both Camille and Kieran glared at Bastianna. "You chose instead to side with evil as your uncle has done many times before you," she said as she scowled at Kieran disapprovingly before she perked up. "But take heart. His punishment will atone for his attempts to prevent the Harvest. His suffering will purify him. You'd do well to heed his lesson, girl. To oppose us is to oppose the natural order. By choice or by force, the witches of the French Quarter will rise again."

Camille watched Bastianna leave them as her mind tried to work through the realization that her uncle might die, her eyes watering at this thought. She shook her head, having no desire to think about his death when she still had time to save him. But Kieran found himself angry and afraid at the thought of his head, wanting to lash out, but he somehow found a speck of peace with how things might turn out for him, and so he held on to that small speck of light to give him strength to survive or perish. It was not entirely up to him to decide his fate, and so he looked at his niece's pensive face to memorize it, relating her to an angel. He took a look at his church and lamented at what might happen to it, should he die, but he had faith that in the end it would remain a safe haven for those who ever needed one.

* * *

Marcel had gathered his followers in the courtyard of the Compound after having regained consciousness and found himself alone out on the street. After having received a call from Elijah, he quickly organized a search party for Klaus and Rebekah. He was not about to let the witches get the upper hand, especially with Genevieve on their side, running the risk of Klaus figuring out what had happened a long time ago.

"We've looked everywhere for him," Diego informed Marcel after he returned with a search party. "We tore apart the Cauldron, the City of the Dead." He sighed as he shook his head. "Wherever they got him, he ain't in the French Quarter."

"Marcel!" Elijah entered the courtyard with Kol, his foul mood having grown worse after his latest encounter with Celeste. He furiously stormed up to Marcel. "Where is my brother?"

Marcel raised his hands to have Elijah calm down. "I got guys out looking for him right now."

As Elijah and Kol went to take another step towards Marcel, two of Marcel's followers stepped in his way, but they were immediately thrown away to crash against a wall by an enraged Elijah and an annoyed Kol. Both brothers had lost their patience, especially after having been toyed with by witches.

"Elijah!" said Hayley to calm him.

"Kol," said Gwen. "Let's leave the violence for our real enemies, shall we?" She stood with Hayley on the second floor, watching the scene unfold before them.

"We've had a hell of a night, lads," Kol informed everyone. "Elijah's been broken down, I've been cursed. You might want to really put some thought into what you do before you do anything." He was met with glares, but he couldn't care less. "Why not cooperate before I rip your heads off your shoulders?"

"No one is killing anyone," Marcel pacified.

Kol grinned at him. "Then tell us where our homicidal brother is."

Marcel grew frustrated. "Klaus threw one of his classic temper tantrums, snapped my neck and tried to take on a coven of witches by himself."

"Sounds about right," Gwen murmured before she raised her voice to ask, "What happened next?"

"He got dropped," Marcel answered as he glanced at Gwen. "I don't know where he is or how to find him."

"They also have Rebekah," Elijah said, to which Marcel's eyes widened. "Every one of you will help me to find them." He said this to everyone around him with a raised hand signaling to every vampire in the room, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument in the matter. "I'm going to kill them all."

Kol smirked. "Now we're talking."

* * *

"How do you feel?" Gwen asked as she dabbed Kol's feverish forehead with a wet towel, stroking his cheek with her other hand. The youngest Original brother sat on the edge of their bed shirtless with his hands keeping him upright on the bed, while Gwen tried to clean him up as best as she could, but she knew what had to be done; it was Kol who was being too stubborn for his own good. "That bath should've helped to calm you down."

Kol chuckled without purpose as he took a deep breath. "I feel as cute as a button." Gwen gave him a pointed look. "The bath would've been better with you in it."

Gwen ignored his flirting for once and submerged the piece of cloth under the water of the bowl she had placed on the nightstand on Kol's side of the bed before she wrung it. She went over to Kol's right shoulder and began to clean his wound, which had yet to completely heal. He hissed as he felt his mind slowly succumb to the venom of the werewolf bite, and he knew he had to do something before he started hallucinating.

"Are you done playing tough?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine," he sighed as he watched Gwen drop the cloth in the bowl that previously had clean water but had now turned red from Gwen having cleaned his wound. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

Gwen hummed and sarcastically said, "Thank you."

"I love your taste, darling," he said as he took her bloodied right hand in his, squeezing it. "I just loathe harming you."

"You won't," Gwen said as she cupped his face with bot of her hands. "We've gone through this before. Besides, do you want to feel like crap and hallucinate about dead people?"

He grinned up at her, but it fell when he remembered what Genevieve did to him. "That witch cursed me." At Gwen's inquiring look he continued to explain. "After the full moon passes, the curse will activate and you'll be in danger." He buried his face into her chest as he brought her closer to him. "I think I'm going to hurt you."

"We'll get through this," Gwen said as she hugged his head, her fingers massaging his scalp. "We just need to find her and get her to lift the curse, right?"

"I'm just glad it wasn't a hex," Kol exhaled.

Gwen quirked an eyebrow questioningly as she stroked his hair. "What's the difference?"

"There's not much," Kol explained as he led her to sit on his lap. "A curse can be lifted, but a hex tends to be irreversible."

"We can lift this curse," Gwen said with determination. "Even if the full moon passes, we can find a way to lift it. I'll make that witch do it, even if I have to kill everyone she loves." She placed her forehead against his, tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of losing Kol. "I _won't_ lose you."

Kol smiled. "You'll never lose me."

"I love you, Kol Mikaelson," she whispered with a peck to his lips.

"As I love you, Gwen Pierson," he returned. He reached up and moved her hair away from the right side of her neck. "Do you feel better?" He needed to make sure that she was up for allowing him to drink from her.

Gwen nodded. "I can feel my magic. It felt so weird when it happened, like I was drugged or something."

"Good thing your knight in shining armor was there to save the day," he quipped as he stroked her neck, relaxing her.

Gwen chuckled. "Of course, how can I ever forget my brave knight?" She then frowned when she thought about Rebekah. "Kol, if we ever get to being a married couple, I don't want secret between us."

"I have no problem with that," he said as he dragged his finger in circular motions on her back. His eyes narrowed when he noticed her fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "What is it?"

Gwen sighed as she recalled the encounter Rebekah had with Marcel in the morning. "It's about Rebekah and Marcel."

"I'd prefer if you kept that to yourself," Kol said as his face scrunched up at the thought of his sister with Marcel. "That is an image an older brother doesn't want of his younger sister."

Gwen slapped his chest. "It's nothing dirty." He chuckled before he nodded for her to continue. "Well, this morning, they were talking about a resurrected witch."

"What about this witch?" asked Kol.

"I think Marcel said her name was Genevieve," said Gwen. "They seemed freaked about her being brought back more than the other witches, like they have some history with her. I think Rebekah did something that Klaus won't like."

Kol sighed heavily. "Rebekah always does something that Klaus doesn't like; it might just be a tryst that this witch covered up or something. I doubt Rebekah would have done anything bad, considering she did more bad to me."

"Not the point," she said as she watched him pout. "And I thought you said it would be a clean slate."

"Yes." Kol nodded. "I said that to Elijah and Nik."

"You can be such a baby," said Gwen.

"And you need to stop worrying" Kol told her. "We will find Rebekah and Nik, and we will break this curse." Gwen nodded as he brushed his knuckled against her cheek, settling his hand on her neck. "Are you sure?"

Gwen nodded with a small smile as she tilted her head to give him better access. Kol will forever be amazed by the amount of trust that Gwen had in him when he didn't deserve it. He reached up and wrapped an arm around her waist to bring her closer to him, while the other one kept a gentle grip on the side of the neck he was not meant to drink from. He brushed his lips over the skin of her neck, causing Gwen to shiver as she grasped his shoulders, mindful of his wound. Kol looked over Gwen's shoulder and his eyes widened when he saw Mary-Alice Claire standing a few feet away from them. She still looked the same as when he last saw her a century ago.

Mary-Alice laughed. " _She has no idea that you will be her death._ "

"Kol?" Gwen asked, still being held close to him.

" _You will kill her,_ " said Mary-Alice. " _And you will be alone once more with no one to love you._ "

Kol clenched his eyes closed and opened them to find Mary-Alice gone, and he deemed her a hallucination of the werewolf bite. He sighed and shook his head before placing his lips on Gwen's neck in a chaste kiss before his face morphed and his fangs extended. Gwen's scent and the pulsing blood that ran through her veins was enough for him to plunge his fangs into her neck with as much gentleness as he could muster. Gwen moaned at the sensation, having felt the stinging pain of his fangs before she relaxed against him. Kol sighed as he continued to ingest her blood, wanting more of it the more sips he took. Gwen watched Kol's werewolf bite heal, his skin stitching itself back together.

Gwen, still exhausted from the day, weakly reached up and tapped Kol's cheek. "Kol."

Kol released her immediately and breathed deep, licking her clean of her blood as he made sure that the puncture wounds healed. The fact that vampire blood made her sick irked him, leaving him helpless to help her heal faster. Gwen slumped against his chest, tired, but looked up into his eyes as she stroked his cheek. Kol lifted her up and placed her on their bed before wrapping the sheets around her. He smiled at her fluttering eyes that fought sleep and placed a kiss on her forehead. When he pulled back she was already sleeping. He sighed and touched his forehead, remembering the curse that would soon take hold of him, but he was determined to fight it all the way.

* * *

A very anxious Sophie finished throwing belongings into her truck with Monique standing behind her, watching her aunt hastily load up the Jeep with things they would need to be able to leave town. The only problem was that Monique had no intention of leaving New Orleans, not even for her aunt, her last living relative.

"Come on," Sophie said to Monique after closing the trunk of the Jeep, having finished stuffing their belongings in the car. "We have to go."

"I don't want to go," said Monique.

"Monique, this isn't a debate," Sophie sighed, her hands trembling due to fear after what she had done. "I just stabbed an Original. He's gonna kill me as soon as he's recovered." She confused Monique's look of indifference with one of despondence. "Look, I'm sorry for everything." Sophie grasped Monique's shoulders in a gentle hold. "I should have come and got you before that stupid Harvest. But you can still have a normal life, one without all this crazy witch nonsense."

"But I am a witch," Monique challenged. "And I don't want to go."

Sophie, looking shocked and betrayed at the familiar feel of magic, grasped her head when she heard the familiar ethereal hum of Monique's magic. "Monique?"

"The ancestors said you didn't have enough faith," Monique said as she walked around Sophie before turning to her. "I was hoping they were wrong." Sophie clutched her head as Monique focused on giving her aunt multiple aneurysms, projecting nothing but agony. "I should've known better."

Sophie's nose began to bleed before she pleaded, "Monique."

Monique glared at her aunt, her eyes devoid of emotion as she watched blood pour down her aunt's face from her nose. "You tried to stop the Harvest."

"Please don't do this," Sophie begged, but she knew that she could not reach out to her niece, not with the look that the younger witch was giving her.

"Now you want to run when we need to stay and fight," argued Monique.

Sophie shook her head. "Please, I'm begging you. Don't, don't—"

"The four of us, when we return," Monique continued, interrupting her aunt's pleads, "we'll have enough power to rid this city of vampires, and we'll kill anyone who doesn't keep the faith."

Sophie's eyes started to bleed, and not a moment later she started to cough up blood as pain surged throughout her body. She weakly looked to Monique and imbedded the image of her niece in her mind, knowing that she would soon be gone form this world. But she couldn't help but try and beg. "Monique, please."

"You should have believed," Monique said unsympathetically as she backed away from Sophie, who dropped to her knees on the ground.

"Stop...please," begged Sophie, but it was too late.

Sophie coughed a few more times as she tried to breathe, but then fell to the ground dead. Monique turned around and walked to where Celeste, Genevieve, and Bastianna were waiting for her a distance away. The four of them, joined by Monique, walked back into the French Quarter, leaving Sophie's dead body in the street near her car.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I am looking forward to the next ones, they'll be filled with so much drama. Also, Kol and Oliver met, but they have already started out on the wrong foot, which makes things so exciting! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and had a good Christmas filled with joy.**

 **Remember to review, Fave or Follow to your heart's content!**

 **See ya later!**


	32. Chapter 31

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait, but things are kind of hectic this semester and I am still finding my footing with my classes. But i have a new chapter for you guys to enjoy. Still, I apologize for having made you guys wait for so long and am happy to have you guys as faithful readers.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

* * *

Rebekah was lying on an old mattress in a run-down, abandoned hospital that was known as the Fleur-de-Lis Sanatorium. The blonde Original looked pale and sickly as she continued to suffer from the werewolf bites she received in the previous night. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open at a dripping sound by her bedside as she slowly returned to consciousness. When she remembered what happened, she shot up in bed, only to look around find herself in a hallucination from a previous time of her life. Rebekah looked around her and saw the abandoned sanatorium was now clean and bustling with nurses caring for the sick. Patients were all groaning and crying in agony while the nurses and doctors tended to them at their bedside; all of the sick were suffering from the Spanish Influenza epidemic in 1919, an event she was actively part of as her head whipped around in panic.

In reality, the hospital was derelict inside, full of antique beds, wheelchairs, and medical equipment that had been left behind to rust. Rebekah became overwhelmed and started hyperventilating as she looked around in her hallucination. Blood dripped onto the floor from multiple patients. A man dropped a bloody rag; another man sat up in bed and coughed up blood into a handkerchief. Rebekah gasped as two doctors dropped another patient onto a cot and wheeled him toward the morgue. She slowly rolled out of the bed, weakened by the werewolf venom in her system that had yet to heal.

A woman's laughter was heard echoing through the corridors, which Rebekah recognized as not being part of the hallucination. "Who's there?" She received no answer, so she struggled to get out of that room as quickly as possible and escape. As she reached the main entrance, she plunged through it and walked outside, her eyes being hurt for a moment by the light of the sun.

"How the hell did I get here?" she muttered to herself as she looked to her surrounding, recognizing them immediately.

Rebekah stumbled toward the steps that led to the sanatorium, but, before she could go any farther, she was stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake from behind. She gasped and fell to the ground on her back. She looked up to face her attacker, but was met by the familiar image of a person she had long forgotten and was recently reminded of.

"Genevieve?" Rebekah asked, wanting to find out if she was hallucinating or if it was real

"Rebekah," Genevieve greeted as she pretended to pout. "Tell me you're not leaving already. I thought we might reminisce."

Having no strength left, Rebekah lost the battle against unconsciousness. Genevieve smirked at Rebekah's form before she looked up to one of the windows of the sanatorium and locked eyes with Celeste.

Celeste stepped away from the window before she walked over to Klaus' unconscious body. She looked over his body, which was shirtless and lying on a bed with his wrists tied down by restraints. He too was weakened by Papa Tunde's blade, which had disappeared inside of his chest that left behind a red scar down his abdomen. He groaned and started to stir, but had yet to wake up.

* * *

At the Lafayette Cemetery, the witches of the Quarter had gathered to pay their respects to Sophie, who, unbeknownst to most, was killed the previous night by her own niece Monique, who was amongst the witches. Monique stood emotionless outside the Deveraux tomb with a lit candle in her hands as an elderly man laid bricks over Sophie's grave. It was relatively quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts as they waited for the tomb to be sealed.

Suddenly, Kol appeared among the witches, throwing one of them into a wall, which resulted in an immediate death. Elijah appeared out of nowhere and quickly took out two more people at vampire speed with a jerk of his elbows into their throats. Monique was not fazed by their show of strength, but other witches gasped at the intrusion and cowered away when they saw who it was that had caused the disturbance.

"Keep calm," Kol said as he paced around the circle the witches have made around him and his brother. "As long as we get what we want, no one needs to be afraid." He smirked. "We are gentlemen above all else."

"Our siblings have been taken," Elijah said eerily calm, which did not bode well for anyone opposing him. "Where are they?"

Monique stepped up towards the Original brothers. "You're both interrupting my Aunt Sophie's consecration."

"Who?" Kol asked, not able to remember who Sophie was.

Elijah ignored Kol as he frowned in confusion before he glanced at the tomb. "How did this happen?"

"Aunt Sophie was a casualty of war," Monique said with a smile that managed to unnerve both Mikaelson brothers.

"I think you'd get along well with my brother Niklaus," Kol remarked. "What, with your likeness to backstab family, but I need you to tell me where to find him and my sister, sweet pea."

Monique shrugged her shoulders. "I have nothing to say to you." Her forced innocent smile turned into a malicious one. "If I were you, I would be worried about getting out of town." At Kol's frown, she continued. "You wouldn't want to hurt that girlfriend of yours, would you?"

"Why you," Kol began, but was held back by Elijah's hand on his shoulder.

"Monique, I recommend you give me what we want, both our siblings and the witch Genevieve," Elijah demanded, for he was in no mood to entertain anyone or anything, "unless, of course, you'd like me to level this place and everything in it."

"That won't be necessary," said Monique. "I have a message for you from Celeste."

Monique raised her hand toward Elijah and casted a spell on him. Elijah, suddenly uncomfortable, pulled at the collar of his shirt as Kol frowned at him. When Elijah ripped open the top button of his shirt, he saw the name 'Theresa' tattooed on his chest, itching as if it was recently tattooed on his flesh. Monique continued the spell as many more names appeared on his body, including the familiar name that was 'Sabine Laurent'. Elijah looked up and glared at Monique.

"To find what you're looking for, follow the path she left behind," said Monique.

* * *

In the Fleur-de-Lis Sanatorium, Rebekah was put back in the hospital bed from earlier, the wooden stake Genevieve stabbed her with still buried in her chest to keep he from healing. The Original had woken up to find Genevieve humming softly a few feet away from her as the witch made a herbal potion, which she had mixed with a small amount of her own blood. Rebekah tried to reach for the stake and take it out of her chest, but her efforts were in vain due to her weakened state.

Rebekah glared at Genevieve's back, struggling to find her voice through the pain. "What the hell are you doing, you ruthless bitch?"

"Poor Rebekah," said Genevieve as she walked towards Rebekah with her mixture in a bowl held in her hands. "You should rest. You're looking a little peaked." Genevieve reached for the stake and yanked it out from Rebekah's chest without a care if she was being gentle or not. She held the stake over the bowl and allowed Rebekah's blood to drop into the potion. "Of course, that's to be expected, given the impressive amount of werewolf venom in your system." She smirked as she glanced away from her potion to stare at Rebekah. "How did you like that wolf-boy, by the way? I thought he seemed like your type—trashy and willing." She sighed, mocking the sympathy in her voice. "I hear he was more enthralled by that witch your brother's cuddling up with, poor thing. And she has found herself between two cursed men."

Rebekah frowned at this and fought through the lump of pain in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"I cursed that brother of yours that you were going to set me up with to kill that abomination of a witch," Genevieve said as she chuckled. "He can either do as the curse wills him to or get out of town to keep her safe, but that will leave her vulnerable and easy pickings for us in the emotional turmoil that should follow, should he leave."

"What curse?" Rebekah choked out.

"I hear you two are close friends," Genevieve said, ignoring Rebekah's question. "Well, consider me jealous."

"If I weren't so bloody sick, I'd rip your head off!" Rebekah panted. "You lay a damn hand on either of them and I'll make sure your last death was nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you even think about hurting them!"

"But you are sick, just like the rest of your family, and comforting the sick always was a talent of mine," said Genevieve. "I take care of my friends." She wetted a towel in clean water before walking to Rebekah. "We were friends, weren't we? Of course we were."

Genevieve took the cool, damp, washcloth and started blotting at Rebekah's forehead with it, bringing Rebekah back to their first meeting through a spell. They had met in 1919 in New Orleans during the Spanish Influenza epidemic that had everyone in a panic. It had been the first day they had met and the first night they had gone out drinking as friends. Genevieve removed the washcloth from Rebekah's forehead and disappeared.

Rebekah gasped awake in the hospital bed, her mind clearing away the memory Genevieve had forced upon her. When she realized she was alone, Rebekah groaned, rolled over to the edge of the bed and stumbled to her feet. She was determined to get out of this with every intention of killing Genevieve in the process.

* * *

Elijah and Kol entered the courtyard of their family home to find Marcel sending out more troops to search the city for their siblings. This time, Marcel had humans join the search, if only to broaden the chances of finding them. This only meant that not even a lead was found about their whereabouts, which did nothing for the foul mood both brothers were in.

"Anything?" Elijah asked.

"They're putting eyes and ears out everywhere," Marcel said as he dismissed the police officers and met with both Originals.

"It's imperative that we find them, whelp," Kol said as he looked around. "Where's Gwen?"

"In the study trying to do a locator spell, but the witches made a strong cloaking spell that won't allow her to find them," Marcel explained.

Kol nodded and turned to Elijah. "We need to get her to check you out." He left and went to the study to find Gwen.

"Daywalkers are working every contact we got; cops, dock workers, guys in the Treme." He sighed, exhausted from working nonstop to find Klaus and Rebekah. "Word is out; anyone trying to earn favor with me gets a lifetime of it if they find them."

"Good." Elijah nodded and went to follow Kol with an annoyed Marcel on his heels. "I need a pen and paper."

"Hey," Marcel said as he followed Elijah, "am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?"

They both entered the study to find Kol and Gwen glaring at a map of New Orleans Gwen had placed on a table. Sighing out of frustration, Kol bit into his wrist and filled up a glass that Gwen held out for him to fill with his blood. Her intention was to use Kol's blood that had a stronger essence instead of using sand or hair or other methods to do a locator spell. Gwen placed the glass on the edge of the table to use later as Kol's wound healed up.

"Miss Gwen?" Elijah inquired.

Gwen shook her head. "They're blocking me. I can't get a clear location." She frowned at Elijah as she watched him remove his jacket. "What are you doing?"

"Monique Deveraux left Elijah a present you need to check out," Kol explained.

"Elijah!" Marcel said in frustration.

"Pen and paper, Marcellus," Elijah said, equally frustrated, if not more. "Now!"

"I want her back just as much as you do, you know," Marcel sighed as he looked from Elijah to Kol. "The both of them."

Marcel turned around and went for the desk in the room to find the pen and paper Elijah asked for. Elijah began to strip off his shirt as he called out, "Hayley!"

"Elijah! You're back," Hayley greeted as she entered the room. "Did you find any," she paused when she saw that Elijah was both shirtless and covered in tattooed names, "...thing?" As she awkwardly gaped at Elijah, Kol and Gwen shared a knowing look with a grin on their lips. Hayley shook her head and stared at Elijah in confusion. "What is happening?"

Elijah nodded at her. "I need you to make a list of these names."

"Okay," Hayley said as she approached Elijah. While she waited on Marcel for the pen and paper, she began examining the names tattooed across Elijah's shoulders, arms, back, and abdomen.

Kol and Gwen pretended to be busy with the map, but they couldn't help themselves, so they stared at Hayley who was staring at Elijah who was staring at the names marked on his skin. Marcel glanced at this, but rolled his eyes.

Hayley's eyes caught on a familiar name before she read aloud, "Sabine?" She looked up at Elijah. "Elijah, what is this?"

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries," Elijah said as he looked over the names, trying to recognize any single one of them.

"It's called a Devinette," Kol said as Marcel joined them, handing over the pen and paper to Hayley. "It's old magic, like a riddle."

"Witches use them to teach their kids," Marcel supplied. "Solve it, and it disappears."

"Why?" Hayley asked. "What's the point?"

"Celeste forced Kol and me to make a choice between Miss Gwen and yourself, and our siblings." He sighed as his mind worked to solve their predicament. "And now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game. The longer the game, the more they suffer."

"Then we need to hurry up and find them," said Gwen. "Who knows what they have planned for them."

"To find Nik and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle," Kol said as he looked over the names on Elijah's skin. "The solution lies somewhere in these names." He hummed as he tried to familiarize himself with them. "Anyone recognize them? I was kind of daggered back then, so they do not ring a bell."

"The name next to Sabine," Marcel said as he pointed to Elijah's right arm. "Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out."

* * *

Klaus still lay restrained on the bed in one of the abandoned rooms of the sanatorium when Genevieve entered. His eyes were closed, but their constant movement under his eyelids said he was near consciousness. Genevieve checked on the restraints as Klaus opened his eyes just enough to watch her gently run her fingers over the nasty-looking scar left behind from where Papa Tunde's blade was embedded into his chest. His eyes had dark shadows beneath them with skin that showed how pale and sweaty he was.

"You poor thing," Genevieve hummed. She went over to a hospital cart to pick up a scalpel off the tray. His eyes watched her every movement, alert. "Don't worry, I'm here to help."

Klaus moaned in pain when Genevieve took the scalpel to his wound and cut open his stomach along the line of the red scar. Then, she quickly pushed up her sleeve and dug her hand into his chest with force to push into his muscle and organs. Klaus screamed and thrashed around in pain, his restraints keeping his movements to a minimum. Once Genevieve grabbed the knife and pulled it out, he began to finally recover. Klaus growled as he glared at a smirking Genevieve.

* * *

"Hello, she-wolf," Kol said after having listened in on Hayley's conversation with Elijah. He had stayed behind to help Gwen with locator spells and watch over Hayley, whereas Elijah left with Marcel to track down an lead on the names of the witches imprinted on the elder brother's skin.

Hayley, startled turned to him from where she sat on a chair in the courtyard. "What is it?" She perked up. "Did Gwen find anything?"

Kol smirked. "No, but I couldn't help but notice the attention you gave my brother."

"I don't know what you're talking about," rebuffed Hayley.

"Elijah means well, you know," Kol began. "He is a romantic sod, that brother of mine." He approached Hayley and sat near her. "He simply has horrible luck in choosing women, let alone with having Nik always taking away any chance of happiness that any of us manage to find."

"He loved Celeste," Hayley said as she shrugged. "I never quite understood that emotion."

"Neither did I," said Kol, earning a frown from Hayley. "A thousand years ago, I thought I fell in love with Gwen's ancestor. Jen was a desired woman in our village and I had every intention of spending my life with her." He scoffed. "She became close with my family and returned my affections, but that all changed after we were turned by my mother. I don't know why, but she changed and turned the whole village against us, shunning us." He looked up at Hayley. "I thought she loved me, but I was wrong, so I cursed love. I never understood Elijah's need to still look for it, but now I do."

Hayley raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you can understand that, out of all of us, Elijah gives his all when he loves," Kol answered before he chuckled to himself. "I always teased him for loving, thinking it was a weakness. You are lucky to have caught his eye, which places you in a very special spot in his heart." He leaned on his knees as he rubbed his hands together. "He always berated me for being a monster and I always mocked him for loving, but I finally understand what he meant."

"You mean Gwen," said Hayley.

"Yes," said Kol.

"Love at first sight?" she asked.

Kol laughed. "No, I actually tried to kill her the first time we met."

"What?" Hayley asked in astonishment. "Why?"

"She looked like Jen and I wanted to kill her," Kol said nonchalantly. "I thank my lucky stars that Nik stopped me."

"And she stayed with you after that?" asked Hayley.

Kol hummed. "She was feeling suffocated and out of place in Mystic Falls."

"Don't we all," Hayley remarked with a roll of her eyes as she leaned back and rubbed her stomach.

"Yes." Kol nodded. "Well, Gwen needed to get away and I needed a guide, so I kind of took her to also push Nik's buttons." He laughed as he remembered when Klaus found them. "He actually found us and almost daggered me, but Gwen is against the whole daggering thing, so she stopped him." He cleared his throat. "Point is that Elijah would do well with a woman like you at his side."

"Let's focus on the baby first before we start pairing people up," Hayley said as she rubbed her stomach to make her point. It's not that she wasn't interested, but things were hectic enough without throwing significant feelings for another person into the mix. She liked Elijah, but she did not see a way for them to work as long as the subject of her carrying his brother's baby was quite evident, considering she didn't even know where she stood in her life and where she would be after the baby was born. "Tell Gwen it was a nice touch with sending you to talk to me."

Kol chuckled. "That obvious, huh?"

"Now that you mention it," Hayley began as she thought about the daggers. "I wonder what happened to the daggers."

"Gwen has them," Kol said.

"Does Klaus know?" asked Hayley.

Kol shook his head. "No, but it's only a matter of time before he decides to dagger one of us and starts looking for them. Gwen's kept them hidden; I don't even know where they are."

"That's good," said Hayley. "I have a feeling that they need to be kept hidden for whatever comes next."

* * *

Klaus now sat upright on the bed he was placed on as Genevieve redressed him, rolling back down his black thermal top over the wound after she was done. He still looked weak and pale as he continued to glare at her with a sheet of sweat on his skin. His body was still numb and his lips were parched with need for fresh liquid, preferably blood directly from the vein.

"My wound isn't healing," noticed the Original, since he still felt the gaping hole in his front that had yet to stitch itself back together.

"The amount of dark magic contained in that blade?" began Genevieve. "It's gonna take a little while."

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Klaus deduced, recognizing the age and experience that surrounded the red-haired witch tending to him. "The witches back from the dead, seeking vengeance? Why show me kindness?"

She caressed his face, sincere about having to hurt him. "You never did anything to me. And the truth is—seeing you like this—I can't help but pity you."

"Then betray the others and stand with me," Klaus bargained, since he was desperate and under the whim of a vengeful witch with murderous intent toward his family. "I will reward you in ways you cannot possibly fathom."

"Klaus Mikaelson offering a deal to little ol' me?" Genevieve smirked. "I should be flattered. But first, we need to have a talk about your sister."

Klaus' facial expression went dark as she walked away from him as a surge of protectiveness appeared. "Rebekah is of no concern to you. If you mean to harm her—"

"Ah, the protective brother," Genevieve said, unfazed by the threatening Original as she turned back to him with her arms folded over her chest. "A shame that loyalty isn't reciprocated, not like the one Gwen offers to you, but that one won't last either so long as your younger brother loves her. But then, I'm no stranger to Rebekah's treachery. Something you and I have in common." She went to pick up the bowl full of the herbal potion with her and Rebekah's blood in it. "Here."

Klaus stared at the bowl with cautious eyes, his paranoid mind telling him it could be poison or a spell that would only torture him further like the blade that was thrusted into his chest.

"Drink," Genevieve said as she held the bowl close to Klaus' lips with honest eyes that locked with his. "I'm just trying to help you. Heal you. Get you to see the truth that's been right in front of you for almost a century, a truth that will affect your entire family."

Klaus sighed and drank the concoction with the help of Genevieve, considering he was still strapped down to the reclined bed. He gagged on it before he could swallow it, the liquid tasting like putrid blood from a corpse, but he recognized it as a mixture of wolf's venom and vampire blood, which had the exploding effect of both bloods battling each other in his mouth. He was about to spit it out, but Genevieve placed her hand over his mouth, tipping his head back and forcing him to swallow it.

"Your sister had an unfortunate run-in with some wolves last night," Genevieve explained the bad taste. "I imagine you taste the venom in her blood." She took her hand off his mouth when he barely choked down the blood. "It's the only way I can show you what you need to see. In her weakened state, I'll be able to guide her down Memory Lane." She put away the bowl on a tray nearby before turning back to Klaus. "That's how I'm going to have my revenge, by showing you her betrayal."

The witch placed her hand on Klaus' forehead and magically linked their minds to a panicked Rebekah's as she ran around the sanatorium. Rebekah, who was hallucinating as she stumbled down the corridor, looked up to see Klaus standing at the other end of the hall with a scowl and looking as ragged as she did.

"Niklaus!" called a relieved Rebekah.

Rebekah ran towards him, passing several rooms on the way, but frowned when he disappeared. Still. She kept going forward.

In the first room she passed, there was a young boy sitting on a table; his eyes were darkened with purplish bruises, and he held a handkerchief to his mouth as he coughed up blood.

In the next room, a teen girl in a pink night gown sat in a bathtub staring at Rebekah. There was blood dripping down her mouth and onto her grown, staining it.

In the final room, an old man clapped his hand against his chest and coughed up blood.

Rebekah cringed as she unknowingly passed the sign on the wall that read _Crematorium_. When she reached the door, she pushed it open and was transported into a familiar scene from a moment in her past she wished would disappear from existence. And this memory would only spark the beginning of Rebekah's betrayal, which had resulted in Genevieve's death and the decimation of the home she and her brothers previously built in New Orleans.

* * *

Gwen growled as she threw away a spell book that only had weak spells. She found annoying the fact that only spells made by powerful witches were the only ones that could keep up with the type and power of her magic. It was driving her crazy how little she could do when Klaus and Rebekah were cloaked by any magic.

"Careful, darling, you're starting to act like me," Kol said with a smirk as he entered the study they were using as the center of their planning. He approached her from behind and placed his hands on her shoulders to massage the tension away. "What do you need?" he asked a she looked over her shoulder to stare at the scattered papers on the desk in front of her.

"I can't do a locator spell," Gwen began as she leaned back against Kol's front, his arms wrapping around her middle. "I can't break through the cloaking spell, so that leaves with pure wit on where to find them."

Kol hummed as he released her to look through the pages on the desk. "What if we use a spell to look at what they're seeing?" He turned to Gwen. "You can use me to sneak through whatever cloaking spell they're using to only see what either Nik or Bekah are seeing, it won't be to locate them."

"That can work," Gwen said with a smile. "I really scored a very smart boyfriend."

Kol smirked. "I would have preferred handsome, but smarts are a good compliment." He extended his hands to Gwen and nodded at them. "Take my hands and focus on Rebekah."

"Why Rebekah?" Gwen asked as she took his hands in hers.

"While I have a close relationship with Nik, the bond of an older brother with his younger sister who is in danger is stronger," he explained.

Gwen nodded and closed her eyes to focus on the image of Rebekah's face in her mind. She opened her mouth and chanted. "Phasmatos Physium Calva, Phasmatos Physium Calva." Kol's eyes grew concerned as he witnessed the trembling of Gwen's body. "Phasmatos Physium Calva!"

Gwen gasped when her mind was engulfed with images of people dancing around in a bar, but she recognized their clothes were outdated. The images mostly focused on a woman with red hair and bright smile, but the music was loud and the atmosphere suffocating when she tried to look around.

Her head throbbed as the scenery shifted to that of an old and abandoned building's walls and hallways with the sound of jazz music still playing in the background. She noticed old equipment one would find in a hospital, but they were also old and were noticeably unused for more than a decade.

The scene changed back to the partying bar as voices mixed together.

" _Okay, next round's on me,_ " said an unfamiliar feminine voice filled with excitement.

" _Clara Summerlin, no. I'll be soused,_ " was the reply.

" _Get it while you can._ " That was Rebekah's distinctive voice, but the image was blurry in Gwen's mind. " _It's the last real gin in the city._ "

" _I knew we were destined to be friends_ ," said Rebekah's voice through the blaring jazz. " _In fact, I was thinking of reaching out to someone we haven't seen in a very long while…our father._ "

"Gwen!" Kol gasped as he caught a yelping Gwen in his arms, kneeling down with her limp body that he held close to his chest as she gasped for air.

Gwen's mind throbbed for a while longer from the remnants of the pain Rebekah was experiencing, but what she saw was difficult to distinguish. She knew that Rebekah was under a spell, so that meant that what she saw was a memory, but there was a moment where her mind didn't feel as clouded when she saw the old building Rebekah seemed to be in. It was the only moment her eyes didn't feel glazed over with Rebekah's memories, but they still managed to confuse her.

"Darling?" Kol mumbled into her hair as he held her head against his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes. "Are you all right?"

Gwen took a deep breath and waited for the headache to leave her. "It's Rebekah," she managed to choke out through her tightened chest as she held on to Kol's arm that was wrapped around her middle. "I think she's being tortured."

"Did you see where she was?" asked Kol.

"I think she did something," Gwen looked up at Kol, locking her eyes with his. Her mind had already worked on figuring out the gist of Rebekah's memories. "She did something that may very well seal her fate." Her strength was leaving her after having been forced out of her own spell as dark spots danced in her vision.

Kol cupped her face as Hayley appeared at the doorway of the room after having heard the commotion. "What did she do?"

"Mikael," Gwen whispered before she lost consciousness and slumped into Kol's chest.

An eerie shiver ran down Kol's spine at the mention of his father as he hugged Gwen's body against his. His narrowed eyes shifted to Hayley's, since she had also heard Gwen's final word, but he looked back down at the head of blonde hair. A feeling of dread filled him and he hoped that nothing terrible would come their way.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'll be uploading later than usual with the amount of classes I have. Still, I am grateful for you guys having continued to read my story. I hope it continues to satisfy you guys. I've hit a writer's block, so I am also trying to push past it.**

 **Remember to review your Love, Follow or Fave to your heart's content.**

 **See ya later!**


	33. Chapter 32

**Hey, guys! Here is yet another chapter for you to enjoy, which I hope you do. I thank you all for being so supportive, things have been hectic all around over here, so I apologize for having to take time to update.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32**

* * *

"Elijah," Kol greeted with urgency in his voice upon his older brother's return. He was not known as the brother that was nervous about anything, but every leader or tyrant had something they had to look over their shoulder for.

Elijah walked past his brother in search of Hayley to tell her of his findings about the curse placed on the werewolf pack in the bayou. "Not now, brother."

"Yes, _now_ ," Kol growled as he took his brother's arm in a tight hold. He had no time to lose and had no patience for his love-struck brother at the moment. Noticing the seriousness that Kol rarely exhibited, Elijah stopped in a hallway, worried about what was so important that had his usual nonchalant brother standing on edge. "Gwen attempted a spell to at least see what Rebekah was looking while using me as a connection."

"Did she find her?" asked Elijah, keeping his voice low like Kol was doing.

Kol nodded, but made face. "Yes and no," he sighed. "Gwen fell unconscious due to a spell placed on Rebekah that seemed to have affected her through the connection. She did say that the place Rebekah was in looked like an abandoned hospital of some sort."

"That's a start." Elijah nodded. "Is Miss Gwen all right?"

"She is," said Kol, nervous about voicing what Gwen had muttered before he took her to their room to rest. "She's resting." Elijah nodded and went to leave, but was stopped once more by Kol placing a heavy hand on his arm that spoke of something grave. "There's something else."

Elijah frowned at how uncharacteristically pale Kol was, noticing the anxiousness practically pour out of his body like waves. "What is it, brother?"

"Before she passed out, Gwen mentioned something else," he said with a dry throat, since he also disliked ever saying the name that had tormented him and his siblings throughout the centuries. "She said our father's name."

"What?" Elijah whispered with levity.

"I don't know what the bloody hell is going on, but our father is involved somehow," Kol explained as he saw Elijah's face pale just a bit. "And Rebekah is right in the middle of it. What on earth happened while I was daggered, 'Lijah?"

"I," Elijah began as he shook his head, trying to remember what could have gone wrong or where it had gone wrong. "We were fine. Everything was going fine."

"Well, not everything was fine if Mikael"—Kol cleared his throat, the name like poison in his mouth, thinking that by simply muttering it would be enough to summon their father—"found you." He frowned. "How did he find us there? I thought we were in the clear, especially after such a long time."

Elijah exhaled through his nose. "This is turning into chaos."

"There's something else," Kol said hesitantly.

"Of course," Elijah groaned.

Kol recalled what Gwen had told him about Rebekah and Marcel talking about a dead witch and decided it was best to relay it to his brother. "Gwen told me that she heard Bekah and the whelp talk one morning about one of the resurrected witches, saying that they were quite panicked about it."

"Really?" Elijah asked, and Kol nodded. The elder brother sighed as he tried to remember what happened back then, but he came up short.

"Marcel _has_ to know something," said Kol. "They were always scheming behind Nik's back."

"Let's find out," answered the eldest as he led the way to Hayley.

Both brothers entered the study to find Hayley at the desk, tipping away on a computer. She glanced up at them to inform them of what she managed to find about the names on Elijah's skin. She opened her mouth to tell them of her findings, but was stopped by Elijah lifting a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet as he stood next to her, while Kol stood on the other side of the desk.

"You were right about the Deveraux witch," said Elijah.

Before anything else was said, Marcel entered the room to join them. "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

"Not much." Hayley shook her head as she showed them all a picture of Clara Summerlin. "She was a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanatorium."

Marcel completely froze over when he recognized a face in the group of nurses standing at the steps that led into the sanatorium. A terrifying chill went down his spine as he stepped away from the group, his mind turning too fast for him to keep up.

"Recognize her?" Hayley asked as she pointed to Clara within the group for Elijah to inspect. "Top row, second from the right."

"Sanatorium?" Kol wondered out loud as he realized that what Gwen saw was connected. "Is it abandoned?"

Hayley nodded. "Yes."

"A place where old medical equipment can be found," Elijah said as he followed Kol's train of thought. He then looked back at the photo as he tried to recognize Clara's face. "I don't recognize the girl."

"I would have, but I was daggered," Kol remarked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Not now, Kol." Elijah glanced at Marcel. "Marcel?"

Both Elijah and Kol exchanged a look when they noticed the worried look on Marcel's features, causing them to turn to the younger vampire with stern looks. They knew how to spot a secret, and Marcel knew something they did not if they followed the anxiousness that practically coated the young vampire's body.

"Do you mind enlightening us on what's caused your face to become terror-filled, whelp?" asked a skeptical Kol, but received no answer. "I do enjoy you like this, but we have a rather pressing situation right now."

Marcel still remained quiet.

"My brother asked you a question," Elijah said with a scowl set on his features. "Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly?" He approached Marcel, threatening him with his eyes. "If you know something, talk."

"The sanatorium," Marcel said as he distanced himself from Elijah. "That's where you'll find them."

"Are you sure?" Hayley raised an eyebrow at Marcel. "How do you know?"

"I just know," was Marcel's simple answer.

"How do you know?" Kol ground out through clenched teeth as he walked over to Marcel, a mocking smirk on his lips. "What did you do, Marcel?" Marcel went to open his mouth but Kol cut him off. "And it better be the truth."

Marcel sighed heavily, gathering his thoughts as he took a step back. "If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into." He cleared his throat. "We did something, Rebekah and I. I think the witches are trying to use it against her." He took a deep breath to fill his undead lungs with enough strength to continue talking about the one thing he thought he'd take to the grave once more. "It's something that you're not gonna like."

"Oh, I had a feeling," mocked Kol.

As Marcel revealed his darkest secret to Elijah and Kol, Gwen was stirring from her nap on her bed. She groaned as she placed a hand on her throbbing forehead, still getting flashes of what Rebekah was seeing. She yelped as a sudden flash of Rebekah in a cemetery flashed to the forefront of her mind.

Gwen placed her feet on the floor and used the link she had with Rebekah as a source for what she was about to attempt. She would have gone to Kol, but she could feel the link weakening as the seconds passed. She took a deep breath and calmed her fast-beating heart, focusing on Rebekah and only Rebekah. She could feel the pull as she clasped her hands together over her chest with her eyes closed.

In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

* * *

Klaus and Genevieve were still in the room where he was still strapped to the cot as she continued to show him Rebekah's memories that led to a certain event that changed things for the Mikaelsons' future in New Orleans. While Klaus scowled at the memories being shown to him, Genevieve was pleased with the results, but she wanted more than that and held no remorse for what she was about to unleash.

"Are you ready to see more proof?" Genevieve asked barely above a whisper, but he heard her.

The only response she received was Klaus closing his eyes as he prepared himself for the next memory. Genevieve had a small smirk on her lips as she exhaled while closing her eyes to link their minds to Rebekah's once more.

The image in his mind told Klaus he should resist Genevieve's spell, but the panic that he felt from his sister through the link was too tempting to ignore; it felt like he was reading her diary and was about to get close to reading something no one was ever meant to know about. He was not surprised to find that Rebekah was conspiring with Marcel and noticed the single knife that he thought that had been lost so long ago.

"What do you see?" asked Genevieve in the present.

"My father's blade," answered Klaus. "It went missing when I was a boy." He exhaled as he recalled the brutal memory of being punished by his father for something he did not do. "He beat me half to death, so sure I had stolen it." A wry smile appeared on his lips. "Rebekah was so kind to me in the weeks after the beating, I should have known she was the culprit. She never could stand weapons were things not meant for girls."

"No!" Rebekah's voice echoed as the memory continued to flow through their minds.

Klaus gasped when he realized what had happened after a message was delivered by Genevieve in the memory as a favor for Rebekah and Marcel. His heart practically stopped from the pain and betrayal he felt, for he never even imagined his sister to do such a thing as to call upon his own father.

"My sister," Klaus mumbled as a tear fell down one of his cheeks after having seen the truth Genevieve was talking about. "Rebekah." He squared his face and focused on the one emotion that was consuming his entire being, anger. " _ **Rebekah!**_ "

* * *

"Wow, and I thought I was the black sheep of the family." Kol huffed out a mirthless laugh. He was both amazed and furious about what Marcel did. "Bloody hell, and here I thought you had no guts whatsoever, but now I realize you're practically suicidal."

"For the better part of a century, I have wondered how Father found us," Elijah said after Marcel informed them that it had been him and Rebekah who had summoned Mikael to New Orleans in 1919, which led to the fire that destroyed their happiness. "What foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home. Did you know I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?"

Kol grinned as he watched Elijah grab Marcel by his throat and pinned him against the wall with the force of his enhanced speed.

"Elijah," Hayley began, but was stopped by Kol when she went to stop Elijah from doing anything reckless.

"Go get Gwen, we need her for what's about to come," Kol told her. She was about to argue, but he beat her to it. "If Klaus was told about this, Gwen might be the only person on this planet that has a chance to even come close of calming him down." He shook his head, knowing that was a long shot. "No, that won't work, but he'd never hurt her and she might be strong enough to subdue him."

"Don't let him do anything foolish," said Hayley.

Kol nodded. "I won't."

Hayley nodded and left the room to find Gwen, leaving the Mikaelson brothers to deal with Marcel. Kol grinned, since he found nothing foolish about Elijah killing Marcel, so he emrely stood back and waited for his turn at Marcel.

Elijah's grip on Marcel's throat tightened, holding him a few inches from the ground. "Niklaus treated you like a son. Rebekah—"

"I loved her," Marcel cut him off. "I still love her."

"Some love," Kol remarked.

"Save me the lecture," snapped Marcel, but choked when Elijah tightened his grip.

Kol approached his brother as he smirked up at Marcel. "You were actually stupid enough to piss off Nik in the stupidest way." He couldn't help but chuckle at what he had heard. "I thought you perfected the art of ruining lives from the best, but you bit off more than you could chew." Kol huffed as he still tried to understand what had gotten over his sister when she planned on going against Klaus when she had betrayed him for the same reasons. "You're both fools."

"All we ever wanted was to be together, but as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen," Marcel argued his case. "But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"

Elijah released Marcel and stepped back to allow Kol to step forward. Marcel coughed and drew in a deep breath before he was met with a hard punch to his jaw that threw him into the floor and cracked the bone of his jaw.

"That is for endangering my sister, you waste of space," Kol growled as he stood over Marcel, watching him rub his chin.

"When Niklaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage," Elijah mumbled as he tried to figure out what to do should they arrive to find Klaus having already learned the truth.

Kol scoffed. "You and I both know that we're too late to stop this."

"We need to get to them," Marcel said as he stood back up on his feet, still nursing Kol's perfect hook to his healing jaw.

"Our sister _will not_ suffer that wrath," Elijah said as he grasped one of Kol's shoulders with an intense gaze.

Kol nodded. "She won't."

Hayley ran into the room as best she could with her slightly protruded stomach. "Gwen's gone."

* * *

Rebekah panted as she forced her body to keep moving through the mind-numbing pain that threatened to overwhelm her. She reached the entrance to the sanatorium as a last effort to escape her brother's wrath, but grunted when she found that she was locked in by a spell.

"Just give it up, Rebekah," Celeste said as she approached the pale Original that still suffered from the remnants of her hallucinations due to the werewolf venom still in her system. "It's inevitable at this point."

Rebekah frowned at the familiar witch. "Sabine."

"I prefer Celeste, actually" Celeste said with an air of smugness about her, feeling victorious for having accomplished the impossible by driving a large wedge between Mikaelson siblings. "All these names I've had over the years, and I still prefer the first. Perhaps it was the way it sounded on Elijah's lips, like a declaration of love." She chuckled. "Oh, he was a good liar." She glared at Rebekah as she limped away from the doors. "All of you are."

"Say what you want about me, but Elijah is a good man," Rebekah snarled through her pain as she squared up to Celeste. She was not about to let a mad witch insult her older brother.

"Still defending him, even until the bitter end," Celeste chuckled with ridicule. "Good. I'm counting on that familial love. It'll be the ruin of you all, including that blonde witch you all dragged into your family drama."

"You stay away from her," Rebekah threatened.

"Now that Klaus knows what you've done, he'll never stop until he's had his revenge," Celeste continued to taunt. "He'll kill Marcel and do something horrible to you. Gwen will intervene out of the goodness of her heart to keep the peace, which will result in Klaus hurting her. Elijah will never forgive him, least of all Kol. Your betrayal will ultimately pit brother against brother. And the fabled Mikaelson bond will crumble."

"I'll kill you, you bitch!" Rebekah snarled, but her threat was hollow, for she had only enough strength to keep herself from crumbling to the ground.

"You already did," Celeste threw back. "Though at the time, I wore a different face."

Rebekah pondered what she meant, but then thought about Genevieve's friend from 1919, whom she infected with the influenza for having seen her do the same to Genevieve. "You were the other one; Clara." She heaved, her breathing still labored, but she managed to glare at the witch in front of her. "You should have minded your own business."

Celeste shook her head. "I suspected my friend was being exploited. It _was_ my business." She recalled the memory, still angry about having been murdered once more by a Mikaelson. "So, you infected me, too. You compelled the orderlies to keep us in quarantine until we died." She hummed with a tilt of her head. "Fortunately, I just took another body. Genevieve wasn't so lucky. Well, now that she's back, you're the one whose luck's run out."

"Not if have anything to say about it." Gwen appeared behind Celeste and slapped her, throwing her into the ground. She hissed after having made contact, cradling her burning hand to her chest. "Punch, not slap," she chastised herself as she remembered Kol's lessons about how it was better for her to punch.

"Gwen!" Rebekah breathed in relief as she limped over to the Immortal witch, hugging her while also keeping her hunger for fresh blood in check.

Celeste scoffed as she got back on her feet. "The other blonde." She glared at Gwen, watching her hold Rebekah close. "How did you get here?"

"Not too difficult when a spell has too many loopholes to count," mocked Gwen. "I think you guys are a little rusty."

Celeste grinned as she felt the growing aura filled with anger elsewhere in the sanatorium. "Not even you can stop the oncoming storm."

"I don't have to," Gwen said as she threw one of Rebekah's arms over her shoulders to keep her steady on her feet. "I just need to get her out of here."

"Good luck with that," said Celeste before she disappeared.

Rebekah gulped as she turned to Gwen. "Weny, I did something."

"I know," Gwen said as she helped Rebekah to walk and find another way to leave, since the entrance held the strongest part of the boundary spell. "I saw. We need to tell Kol and Elijah where we are before Nik finds us."

* * *

Outside of the sanatorium, Elijah parked his speeding car near the sidewalk at the end of the stairs that led up to the entrance of the abandoned building. Kol and Marcel stepped out of the car and followed Elijah towards the building.

"We should divide the building," said Elijah. "I'll start at one end, Marcel at the other and Kol any other floor."

Kol nodded as he sped through the entrance that was no longer protected by a spell. He was desperate to find Gwen and Rebekah before Klaus did. He knew that his lover was in the building, having received a message in the pockets of his pants she sent him about having found Rebekah. The only women he'd ever cared about are in danger, so he would do whatever it was needed to keep them safe.

Inside, Gwen and Rebekah stopped when they saw Klaus at the end of a hallway they turned into. His body was almost at full strength after Genevieve supplied him with a bit of her blood. Rebekah immediately panicked as her undead heart seemed to want to burst through her chest. Gwen felt the Original's body shake against hers as she held Rebekah around the waist to keep her from crumbling to the ground, but her eyes were focused on a furious Klaus.

"Nik," Rebekah said with a trembling voice. "Nik, it isn't true."

"I want to believe you, sister," Klaus said with an eerily calm tone of voice. "But your face tells a different story."

"Nik, please," Gwen tried.

"Step away from her, Gwen," Klaus hissed. "She's nothing but a traitorous sister that sentenced her own blood to death."

Gwen's throat went dry, not knowing what to do. "It was a mistake, Nik. She didn't mean to do it." Her eyes fell on the blade in Klaus' hand, frowning at the mass of darkness that she felt coming from it.

"So you know what she did," said Klaus as he kept a tight grip on Papa Tunde's blade.

"Yes, but don't do something that you'll regret," Gwen pleaded. "I saw everything and I understand that you're way past fury, but you're not going to hurt her, Nik."

"I've made up my mind," said Klaus. There was nothing that could stop him. He knew he was risking breaking apart his family, but something had to be done to reprimand Rebekah for what she did. "You should be wise to heed my warning. I will not stop, not even for you."

Afraid, Rebekah used whatever strength she had left to speed away with Gwen to put as much distance between them and Klaus. If Gwen couldn't calm him down then there was no point in trying to talk things out. She was deluded to have thought that Gwen would have been able to stop Klaus, but he's still the unforgiving man he had always been. Her options were limited, and she had a feeling that none of them would be able to save her from her brother's rage.

"You cannot hide from me, Rebekah!" Klaus yelled as he stalked after his sister and friend. "Nor can you run. This ends now." Klaus took his time as he hunted down Rebekah. "Rebekah!"

Gwen grunted as she helped Rebekah go through a door that led them down to a basement. She took care with helping Rebekah walk down the steps, knowing that Klaus was not far behind them. They were about to go through another door, but Rebekah stopped, causing Gwen to turn to her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Gwen. "We can't stop, Bex. We have to keep running."

"There's no point," heaved Rebekah as she stepped away from Gwen. "We won't get far enough in the state I'm in, but you can."

Gwen shook her head. "I am not leaving you, Rebekah." She grasped the taller blonde's shoulders and locked eyes with her. "I know you're scared and I know that you did something very wrong, but I also know that you don't do things for the hell of it."

Rebekah gulped as she nodded.

"We have to keep moving until Kol and Elijah get here," said Gwen.

They both turned to the stairs when they heard the heavy footfalls, watching Klaus descend the steps with his eyes firmly on them.

"What's this?" He reached the bottom of the steps and slowly approached his sister that Gwen kept behind her. "Tired of running?"

"I know how much you enjoy the chase," Rebekah panted as she still held on to Gwen's arm to keep herself steady. "I'd sooner deny you the pleasure."

"Well, then I'll take my pleasures in other ways," said Klaus.

Gwen held her head high. "Nik, stop this. This is what they want. They want you to turn against your own family, so stop this before it gets to a point from which you'll never come back from."

"No more 'daggered in a box' for you," he pointed the knife at Rebekah before turning to Gwen. "I know you have them. I've humored you enough, so I expect them to be returned after I'm done with Rebekah." He turned back to his sister with a wicked smirk. "Trust me, sister, you'll long for what the dagger offered." He lifted Papa Tunde's blade to show them item. "This will be far less merciful. How to describe exactly what this blade does?"

"You don't have to do this, Nik," Rebekah tried to reason with him once more.

"After I plunge this into your heart, you will be immobilized, imprisoned in a state of raw, inescapable anguish." He pointed the blade threateningly at Rebekah. "Time loses all meaning. It's not unlike a living hell, which I find rather fitting, given your treachery."

"Then do it," Rebekah challenged. "If that's what you really want, go ahead."

"Rebekah, be quiet," Gwen hissed, silencing her.

"Are we skipping the part where you beg for mercy?" Klaus huffed as he approached the two blondes. "For forgiveness? I was really looking forward to that."

Gwen had seen Klaus angry before, but not like this. For the first time in her life, she was truly afraid of what Klaus would do, especially to his own sister. She never imagined he would even consider hurting Rebekah in a way that was merely to watch her suffer. She wouldn't be surprised if he did it to an enemy, but not to his own family. She knew he was terrifying and vile; she had been subjected to such behavior as they got to know one another. This was something she never wanted to witness ever again, but she knew it was inevitable.

"I'll pass," said Rebekah. "I know better than to think it would do me any good."

"That's it, then?" Klaus paced away from them before. "You concede, like a lamb to the slaughter." He pointed the magical blade at Rebekah. "What would your father think of you now?"

Gwen stepped away from Rebekah as her hands glowed green. She lifted her hands up and shot a ball of green light at Klaus, throwing him back into a wall.

"Rebekah, go!" Gwen said, but yelped when she was thrown hard against a wall in her distraction, making a dent. She panted as the wind was knocked out of her and reached up to touch the back of her head, feeling a warm liquid on her fingertips. She brought it to her face and saw her blood with her head pounding with pain.

Rebekah lunged toward Klaus in defense of Gwen, but he threw her off into a wall as easily as he did Gwen and watched as the old surface crumbled under his sister's weight. Still weak from the werewolf venom, she grunted in pain as she fell to the floor. Covertly grabbing a metal tube as a weapon, she got up and rushed toward Klaus again. She attacked him repeatedly with it, but it was not enough. Klaus threw her off yet again and stood over her.

"Nik, no!" Gwen yelled as she knelt on the ground.

Before he could do further harm to her, Marcel suddenly arrived and rushed at Klaus, but was jerked off without much effort.

Klaus grinned as he turned to Marcel who was still on the floor. "Just the man I wanted to see." Marcel groaned from the force of the shove as he tried to get to his feet. "Rebekah's punishment won't be complete until she watches you die."

"Nik, it was my idea to summon Mikael," Rebekah said as she tried to get Klaus' attention away from Marcel. "If you're gonna hurt anyone, it should be me."

"Such loyalty to your beloved," Klaus mocked as he turned back to Rebekah. "You know, if you had offered me even a fraction of the same, I wouldn't have to do this."

Gwen groaned as she used the wall to get to her feet and rushed at Klaus, but gasped when he grabbed her neck in a tight hold. "Nik, stop," she choked as she grabbed at his wrists to try to allow her throat space to breathe. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"You stand with her?" Klaus hissed. "Out of everyone, I never thought you'd go against me."

"No." Gwen shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes.

Klaus' eyes softened for a moment as he watched Gwen struggle to breathe, his anger ebbing away, enough to allow him to see what he was doing. He loosened his hold and Gwen gasped in air into her lungs, but he still had a good grip on her throat.

"Nik, please," Rebekah pleaded as she managed to sit up. "Let her go."

Klaus did as Rebekah asked of him, dropping Gwen to the side as she fought to breathe through her sore throat. He lifted the blade, about to stab Rebekah in the heart with it.

"No!" Gwen screamed.

Klaus was caught off guard when Kol intervened and held his arms back, reminiscent of what he had done when he was undaggered in Mystic Falls the year before. Elijah appeared and grabbed the blade Klaus had on his hand, only to plunge it into Klaus' chest.

Everyone watched in shock as they watched the blade disappear within Klaus' chest, hearing the skin being torn apart to allow it entrance. Klaus was immediately overtaken by pain that the dagger brought, leaving his body paralyzed with nothing but pain.

Kol dropped Klaus into Elijah's hands, the latter kneeling on the ground with Klaus in his arms as the former went over to Gwen. Kol gathered her in his arms and cupped a cheek in his hand, touching her forehead with his as her eyes focused on his. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Gwen rasped, her throat hurting her.

Kol noticed this and inspected her healing neck, leaving him angry. "He'll pay for this."

"Stop," Gwen whispered, suddenly tired as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. Kol wrapped his own arms around her, sitting her on his lap as he felt her body tremble all over, knowing that she was hiding her tears. "I just want this to stop."

"Go!" Elijah ordered as Marcel helped Rebekah to her feet. "Both of you. Run as far and as fast as you can." Things had changed for him and his siblings. "Run!"

Marcel and Rebekah left the room as Kol stood up with Gwen in his arms and her face hidden in his neck.

"There's no place on earth that will be far enough, 'Lijah," Kol remarked. "And that blade isn't going to stay in there forever."

Elijah glanced up at Kol and nodded before looking down at Klaus' eyes that were filled with betrayal.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed. It was a tough chapter to right, especially since I love my Gwen and Klaus to be on good terms, but things got out of hand for them both. Things will be revealed and dynamic won't be the same.**

 **Remember to review or Like or Fave; your support fuels me!**

 **See ya later!**


	34. Chapter 33

**Hello, guys! Here's another chapter for you all to enjoy. I know it's a horrible deal, but I hope you guys can bear with me updating once a month, but be sure that a chapter will be posted every month. I will not fail to do that. I am so glad to have you guys be so faithful and devoted to the story, and be sure to know that I already know where I want to take this story and the path that Gwen and Kol will be taking along the way.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **I want to especially thank amisam47, Kim and .2017 for their reviews of the last chapter and hope they enjoy this one.**

 **I hope you ALL enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

* * *

 _Laughter was heard around the small apartment that was beautifully decorated. There was also jazz music filling the space, the upbeat rhythm accompanying the sound of mirth that came from the living room. Two figures danced in the area of the living room, the furniture having been moved to avoid incidents as the pair laughed and danced without a care in the world to the song ringing in their ears._

" _You really need to dance more often, Nik," Gwen said as she smirked at Klaus._

 _Klaus chuckled. "I'll have you know that I am a rather good dancer." He twirled her out of his arms and back. "I'm only a bit out of practice."_

" _A bit?" she teased._

 _It was the first time she had ever felt another person's touch, not that she felt the warmth of the cold, but it was something solid that her hand didn't go through in her state. She had been so excited with her progress that she decided to practice by dancing with Klaus after having spent so long being invisible without the ability to touch others. It made her feel she took her life as a human for granted, for she could no longer taste her favorite meals or enjoy the sun's warmth or appreciate the cozy atmosphere that a rainy day provided. Those things were taken away from her in an incident that lasted only a second before everything had gone dark and she was no more. She was a corpse, no longer a human being._

" _I missed this," she murmured as she stopped dancing and smiled at her hands being against Klaus'. She knew that if she could, she would be crying. "I missed this so much. I can't feel much, but I know you're there." She looked up to smile at Klaus. "Thank you so much, Nik."_

" _For what?" he asked as he allowed the chill of her presence in his palms._

" _For letting stay with you, I know that having a ghost haunting you isn't something people enjoy," said Gwen._

 _Klaus cupped her hands in his and grinned at Gwen. "You're currently my only and best friend. Even if you're a bit insufferable"_ _—_ _he chuckled at her raised eyebrow_ _—_ _"I care for you. I know I can be difficult, but I am glad that I have you by my side."_

 _Gwen raised a hand and presented him her little finger. "Let's promise to be friends and be there for each other." He opened his mouth, but she was quick to stop him. "I don't care how corny or stupid it sounds. I'm a ghost; I doubt I'll ever have a relatively healthy or any relationship for however long I am stuck like this."_

" _Fine," Klaus sighed, pretending to be annoyed before hooking his own little finger around hers. "I promise to endure you for the upcoming eternity." He chuckled when she slapped his arm with her free hand. "You're my friend and I will be there for you, always and forever."_

" _Always and forever," Gwen said with a wide smile._

* * *

 _Always and forever_ , Gwen remembered as her mind slowly returned to the present, the light of the morning streaming through the windows of hers and Kol's room in the Compound. The other night had been a complete disaster and she had been helpless to do anything, but she could not find a true solution to her question. She could never truly harm Klaus, let alone Rebekah, even though she had been in the wrong. Still, Klaus had the effect on people that drove them to do things they never thought they would act on.

"Gwen?" Kol sat beside her on their bed and stared at her as she sat cross-legged while staring at nothing in front of her. He placed a hand on her knee. "Darling?"

Gwen snapped her head to him and forced a smile. "Yeah?"

"Are you all right?" He reached up and stroked a stray bang away from her face before cupping her cheek, which she leaned into with her eyes closed. "You didn't sleep last night." It wasn't a question.

"How could I?" Gwen asked as her eyes opened and stared at his chest. She still remembered Klaus' hand wrapped around her neck and the fury in his eyes as he tried to hurt Rebekah. "It's been so long since I last saw him like that." She crawled over to Kol and snuggled up into his arms that held onto her tightly with one hand deep in her pale blonde hair. "I was afraid."

"You shouldn't have gone on your own," Kol said as he leaned against the headboard and placed his cheek on top of her head.

"I was losing my connection to Rebekah," countered Gwen as she buried her nose into his neck, taking in his strong scent of freshly-sprayed cologne. "I just wanted to find her before anything bad happened to her."

Kol sighed heavily. "It was inevitable. The secrets in our family always surface soon enough." He glanced down at her. "Any you'd like to share before someone tries to stab you with a bone?" He smiled when he heard her laugh, glad to have heard it, even if it was small. "When I started trying to make a dagger that would work on Nik, Rebekah gave me up to him in favor of getting on his good graces. I was so angry when it happened because she had chosen that whelp over helping me." He took a deep breath and cleared his throat to keep his anger in check when remembering what had happened. "And right now, she condemned herself for having wanted to do the same as I did. I strangely feel the need to help her after the hell she put me through."

"At least you didn't call your father," Gwen remarked as she relaxed in Kol's arms. "Did you ever think about calling Mikael?"

"I didn't have a death wish," said Kol. "Don't ever repeat this, but I care more for Nik than I ever did for my father. He had made our lives miserable to the point that I only saw him as a tyrant and not the man I was supposed to idolize and look up to."

"What do you think is going to happen?" asked Gwen, fearing the answer.

"That blade isn't going to stay inside Nik for long," he answered as he sat up with her on his lap, pushing her out of his chest to lock eyes with her. "We can only hope that Rebekah is under the smallest crook in the underworld. Do you have the daggers?"

Gwen nodded. "Yes, they're—"

"Don't tell me," he said with a finger on her lips. "It's best they remain unknown, since they're the first thing Nik will want to punish me and Elijah."

"Right," Gwen sighed as she stood up and stretched her tight muscles, since she had recently woken up from the small nap she managed to get very early in the morning. "Now, our priority is that curse on you. The full moon ends tonight, we need to break it before anything happens."

"We need to find _the_ witch," said Kol but huffed. "But I doubt we'll be able to find her on time."

"Then let's find _a_ witch," suggested Gwen. "I think I know someone who will be more than happy to help us."

* * *

Elijah stared at Klaus' gasping form the eldest placed on the younger's bed. The hybrid had been stripped of his shirt to reveal an angry wound on his abdomen where Papa Tunde's blade was under the skin, causing Klaus' body to be racked with painful convulsions due to the dark magic that it held. Still, even though he had caused this to save Rebekah's life, he felt conflicted about how it all came it happen and the results of actions made by everyone. And things had been starting to calm down, but now it all came crashing down, reminding Elijah of their last year in New Orleans.

"This was all you," mumbled Elijah. He looked away and left the room when he felt the presence of a human entering the Compound.

Leaving his brother behind in the room, Elijah descended to the courtyard to find Camille entering the Compound.

"Camille!" He called and gestured for her to follow him. "Please." And she did as he said without a single word when he directed her to a hallway.

"Why did you call me?" Camille asked, not missing a chance to hope that her uncle could be saved. "Have you found a way to help my uncle?"

"I can try," Elijah said with a sigh. "But first, I need your help."

Camille frowned. "I don't have time for games, Elijah. The hex on him is getting worse by the day."

"My brother has a mystical torture device buried in his chest, the mother of his child is inexplicably missing and my younger brother has disappeared with the person that you are substituting," Elijah began, disliking the attitude the human woman assimilated upon arrival. "So, I can assure you, I have no time to play any games, either."

Finding no way else to argue, since the old vampire was her only chance to save her uncle, Camille nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

Elijah grabbed her arm in a gentle hold and took her back to Klaus' room while summarizing what had happened the night before in few words. He was anxious and stressed, leaving him with no time to waste to make certain things were ready for when Klaus stood back up. His only comfort was that Rebekah had to be out of the country by now.

"The dagger the witch gave me is inside of him?" Camille asked as she stared at Klaus' body, perspiration appearing as a coat of sweat over his skin. Her eyes went to the ugly scar in his stomach, which had her cringing.

Elijah removed his jacket and rolled up a single sleeve. "And every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering."

Camille glanced at Elijah. "Who stabbed him?"

"I did," Elijah answered nonchalantly, ignoring the surprise look on the blonde's face. "And now I intend to remove it." He approached the side of the bed, causing her to move aside. "You might want to take a step back."

Camille was shocked and confused with what was happening as she stood at the foot of the bed, knowing what was coming by how Elijah made things ready to get the dagger out. "Why am I here?"

"Because of all the people that could be here, you're probably the only one he wouldn't immediately slaughter," Elijah explained as he used a scalpel to slice into Klaus' abdomen along the red scar bisecting his chest. "Miss Gwen would have been here, but she is preoccupied with a curse placed on my brother." He jammed his fist into the open wound to grab the blade without much warning, Klaus making no sound due to the agony that he already experienced from the blade. "Also, he speaks of you with what is a rare degree—for him, at least—of respect. I can see you challenge him to see himself and others in a new light, something that Miss Gwen also does, but you're blunter about it."

Elijah grunted when he finally pulled the knife out of Klaus' chest, the latter gasping out of agony from the pain. Relief settled on his wound that began to close up without any more pain shooting all over his body.

"A wonderful skill that I shall be counting on very shortly," Elijah continued as he turned his attention to Camille. He placed Papa Tunde's blade on a bowl he retrieved, along with the scalpel. "You see, Niklaus will be weak as he recovers." He cleaned his bloodied hand with a white washcloth. "So watch over him and feed him, if you would, but slowly, please, and from your wrist."

Camille released the breath that she did not know she was holding back. "Don't you guys have bags of blood in storage?"

"We do, but your blood is laced with vervain," said Elijah. "So, it will burn him. He'll ingest it slower. Perhaps you could use the time constructively? Persuade him not to murder his baby sister."

Camille was taken aback and finally realized that this was something much larger than she ever thought of. Her mind was a bundle of mess, questioning what everyone was and if they knew of what was happening, but she needed to focus for the time being. This was something that would be able to distract her from the overwhelming feeling of what the situation entailed.

Elijah turned to Klaus. "Niklaus, it was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah." He shifted his attention back to Cami. "Now, I fear Sabine will be making a final move against us. I intend to find her and to end this."

"Elijah," Klaus whispered weakly, stopping his older brother from leaving the room. Elijah stopped and leaned down to place his ear near Klaus' mouth, since it appeared that his brother had trouble speaking aloud. "You will pay for this."

Elijah straightened up and sighed, fearing that his sister would never be able to be safe after what happened. Still, he had no time to pay any mind to any of Klaus' threats. He only hoped that Camille would be able to appease his brother's rage that he saw boiling in the hybrid's eyes.

* * *

"Thank you for this," Gwen sighed as she stood in front of Hayley. "We're really at a disadvantage here. Kol is cursed, you're in constant danger during Klaus and Elijah's power struggle to maintain sanity and your wolf clan is running out of time before they become extinct."

"Yeah, we need to even our odds." Hayley nodded while holding on to the gun in her hands. "Celeste screwed with us both, the least we can do is return the favor."

Kol stood to the side, his senses also on the werewolves nearby that had him on edge. He wasn't received in a nice manner when they arrived, but he understood why. After explaining things to Hayley, she found no problem with him being present after throwing a few werewolves a glare for going after Gwen. And he also had knowledge about magic that could help her when dealing with Sabine, which also benefited him and Gwen.

Celeste, who was still possessing Sabine's body, had her hands tied behind the tree she was leaning against with a piece of tape over her mouth. Hayley and Eve stood in front of her with Gwen and Kol behind them. The women from the wolf clan had their rifles aimed at the witch tied to the tree, while the rest of their clan, still stuck in wolf form, surrounded her.

Hayley stepped forward and removed the tape with a quick flick of the wrist with the intention of making it hurt.

"So what's this, payback?" Celeste was frustrated, mostly with herself for being caught. "Look, I'm sorry I tricked you." She looked between Hayley and Gwen. "I wasn't after you either of you."

"Of course not," Kol began, his tone laced with sarcasm as he approached Celeste with murder in his eyes. "You merely used them as pawns to dangle in front of me and Elijah, taunting us with _every_ intention of killing them if it meant that you got what you wanted. Don't even try to deny it."

"We were just collateral damage," Eve began as she pointed her gun at Celeste. "You didn't care to send many of our friends against an Original when you put his girl in danger, knowing full well that they were going to die when you lied about who we were going after. You almost burned Hayley and Jackson alive in that plantation fire."

Celeste struggled against the ropes to free herself, but stopped when Hayley fired her gun a little too close for Celeste's liking.

"Careful, Sabine, or Celeste or whatever you like to call yourself," Hayley warned, the growl that almost escaped her stuck in her throat. "Sudden moves make me jumpy." She cocked the gun again." And homicidal."

Celeste scoffed. "What, you're gonna kill me, honey?"

"No, I know better," Hayley said as she shook her head. The wolves growled behind her, giving their own warning. "See, I know all about you. I know that you like to off yourself and then jump into other people's bodies. Well, that's not gonna happen here." She glanced at Gwen and Kol to make her point. "I know I can't kill you, but try hexing me, and my friend Eve here"—she gestured to the older woman—"will kneecap you. Go for her, and then, well, I'll really make it hurt."

"In other words," Gwen began. "We only want to talk without the need to rely on using force."

"So, what do you want?" asked Celeste, eager to get this over and done with.

"Back in the nineties, you inhabited a witch named Brynne Deveraux, remember?" Hayley began to explain.

"And you know Genevieve," said Gwen.

"Marcel had her, you, put a curse on a lot of werewolves so they'd only turn human on a full moon," said Hayley. "And, since you're so good with those, we'll need to talk about the one Genevieve used on my friend's boyfriend."

"I see." Celeste nodded. "Yes, that was me." She smirked. "Let me guess, you guys want revenge."

Hayley scowled. "I want you to undo _both_ curses."

Celeste's smug grin dropped at this, since she didn't expect it. Her eyes then turned to Gwen. "I thought you knew that a witch's curse cannot be undone by another."

"I know," Gwen said as she approached the witch. "I also know that you were her friend back in the day. We still don't know what the curse is, but you might."

"Why would I help either of you?" asked Celeste.

Gwen approached her with her arms crossed over her chest. "You said it yourself. You had nothing against me or Hayley, but we were still victims of your ridiculous plan to create a wedge between the Mikaelsons, and you succeeded. Still"—she raised her hand that glowed green and choked the brown-skinned witch—"you caused enough deaths for this suffering pack and put a pregnant woman and her child in danger."

"You may be able to jump bodies," Kol began, "but I know a few spells here and there that can feel like death without the painful part going away." He received a glare when Gwen released her hold over Celeste. "Look, I may side with my brothers and everyone else here can also do the same," he said as he gestured to Gwen and Hayley. "The point is that none of us are my brothers' pawns, which should be reason enough to not make an enemy out of any of us."

Hayley stepped forward to stand next to Gwen. "We just want to be left in peace." She gestured to Kol and Gwen with her gun. "You'll find that none of us really want any part of any war or fight between species, which is useful to you witches, considering we can be just as bad as the other Originals." Her glare was soft, since she wanted to show Celeste that she was telling the truth. "And we just need the balance to be able to keep up with everyone else in order to survive."

Celeste took some time to think it over. She found that they did make sense, considering they were also in the middle of the battle she created between Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah. All they wanted was to be able to survive the oncoming storm she forced upon them. She never really had anything against Kol, considering he had done a lot for the witch community, and she didn't care for Mary-Alice's petty revenge for having trusted a Mikaelson fully.

"All right," Celeste began. "You've convinced me."

"The curse placed on me by a homicidal ex-girlfriend," Kol said as he stood in front of Celeste, "how can we break it?"

"You can't," said Celeste.

Gwen frowned. "What?"

"Not right now," clarified the witch. "You'll have to let it run its course for now, since you won't be able to find Genevieve on time. By allowing the curse to go through, you'll know _exactly_ what you're dealing with."

"You don't know what she did," Gwen deduced.

"Mary-Alice gave the message to Genevieve, not me. I can only say that it involves in your boyfriend taking your life or something like that, but I think she was only being poetic," said Celeste. "My advice is for you to succumb to the curse, learn the effects and weaknesses. Finally, look for the loophole that will allow you to break the curse." She hummed, deciding to allow Gwen something to do when dealing with Genevieve, since she disliked how spineless the coven in New Orleans really was. "Genevieve will have all of the answers you need, so bide your time and tear it out of her."

"Are you insane?" asked Hayley. "She's ere, we can do it."

Gwen shook her head. "We have to break it now."

"Gwen," Kol called, silencing his significant other that stared at him with wide eyes filled with fear for _him_. He touched her shoulder and turned to Celeste. "I allow the curse to take hold, I figure out what it is and it will allow me to break it."

Celeste nodded. "From what I managed to find out about it, it's more of a spiritual thing than anything else." She glanced at Gwen. "You'll have more luck breaking it through your own means than relying on Genevieve doing it for you."

"Kol," Gwen began as she grasped Kol's jacket to get his attention. "I don't like this. What if something happens to you? What if the damage is not reversible?"

Kol grinned down at her and placed a hand to her cheek. "Mary-Alice is not the type of witch to take a life, which means that she only wants me to suffer in some way that reflects how things ended for her." He pecked her forehead. "Do you trust me?"

Gwen gave him a look. "Of course."

"Everything will be fine," he assured her before turning to Celeste. "Thank you," he said, surprising Celeste. "Now, what do we do about the dogs?" There was growling from behind him, so he cleared his throat. "I mean, the lycanthropes, if that's a fancier word for them."

After giving instructions and requesting ingredients that were easy enough for Kol to find through means of his enhanced speed, Celeste began to mix the items in a jar, her memory serving as the instructions. Celeste sat on a tree stump after being untied from the tree she stood against, though her hands were still tied together. Still, she managed to mix the herbs together without trouble under the careful watch of Kol as he made sure that nothing seemed wrong with the mix of ingredients.

"Here." Celeste handed over the jar to Hayley after being satisfied with the mixture. "It's herbs ground into paste. It'll act as a conduit for the spell." Hayley nodded as she took the jar while listening to Celeste's instructions. "On the next full moon, your people become human. Feed it to them, the curse will be broken."

Hayley hummed. "Great way to poison us all at once."

"Ask him," Celeste said as she motioned to Kol with a nod of her head. She sighed when no one said anything as they stared at her with narrowed eyes. "I know any of you have no reason to trust me, but, Hayley, I actually like you." She looked to Gwen. "After that slap, I like you, too."

Kol raised an eyebrow at Gwen. "I told you to punch."

"I know," Gwen groaned. "I just got caught up in the moment."

Celeste ignored the couple, even though she actually found their bickering entertaining, and gave Hayley her full attention. "I was you, caring for Elijah when he cared more for his brother, and I ended up dead. So did a lot of others. This"—she nodded to the jar—"call it a chance for me to give to you what I was too in love to give myself; it's a chance to free yourself from the Originals."

"You believe her?" Eve asked Hayley, since she preferred to side with the oldest vampires that were adamant in protecting Hayley over a witch that had placed the young woman in danger.

Hayley never had a chance to answer, her train of thought being interrupted by the wolves growling behind her. Suddenly, Elijah appeared with a clenched jaw and serious eyes that held murder within them.

"Whatever she's promised you, it's a lie," said Elijah as he approached the group, paying no heed to the wolves around him.

"Elijah, it's okay," said Hayley. "I'm okay. I have Gwen and Kol here for the sole reason that you're being paranoid right now."

"Rebekah?" asked Kol.

"On the other side of the world, if you want to be optimistic," Elijah answered before settling his hard eyes on Celeste, pointing an accusing finger on her. "She cannot be trusted."

"She's the only one that can help my pack," argued Hayley.

Elijah suppressed the urge to growl in Celeste's direction. "Do you have any idea what she has done to _our_ family?"

Hayley took a deep breath and decided to try and mediate with Elijah. "I know you want revenge, and come the next full moon, when I'm sure her cure works, she's all yours."

"We can keep her out of trouble; make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else until Hayley tries out her spell first," Gwen reasoned.

"Are you suggesting that we hold her," Elijah began as he glared at Celeste, "her—captive for that long? It would take an army."

"And I've got one," Hayley said through clenched teeth, for she was not backing down from this one. The wolves that stood behind her howled, agreeing with her statement. "So help me or get out of my way."

"Elijah, all we need to do is wait to make sure that it works," said Gwen. "She'll be dealt with after everything is said and done."

Elijah paused, but only for a moment, before he sped over to Celeste in a blink of an eye. He grabbed his former lover and the jar that Hayley held, disappearing with both spell and witch. Hayley gasped and groaned at having been caught off guard.

"Wait here," Kol said before speeding after his brother.

Gwen approached Hayley and Eve. "Let's wait until Kol talks to Elijah before I find him and drag him back kicking and screaming."

Hayley nodded, staring to where Elijah and Kol left with the one thing that was meant to help her break the curse on her wolf pack. She then turned to Eve. "Fall back, we've got this."

"Are you sure?" asked Eve.

"Yeah." Hayley nodded.

With a nod, Eve left with the werewolves to give the young ladies some privacy as they waited for the Mikaelson brothers to return. The one werewolf that Hayley recognize as Jackson hung back to keep watch, but the brunette was adamant to have privacy with Elijah.

"That includes you, Jackson," she said softly.

Although reluctant, Jackson whined before he did as Hayley asked and left behind his pack to wait for the full moon.

"Now we wait?" asked Hayley.

Gwen nodded as she stood next to Hayley. "Now we wait."

Elijah stopped far enough away from Hayley and the pack of werewolves, which allowed him and Celeste then privacy that he sought with the woman that had torn apart his family. He shoved her against a tree, causing her to groan, and he stepped back to show her the jar of paste she made for Hayley with furious eyes.

"You tricked her," Elijah accused.

"Come now, Elijah," Kol said as he appeared behind his brother, intent on making sure that the jar was safe. "Leave the impulsiveness to me."

Celeste huffed. "It's no trick. You can ask your brother."

Elijah glanced at Kol.

The younger of the brothers nodded. "I picked up the ingredients myself, it's legit."

"You're holding the cure for Hayley's clan in your hand. If her wolves take that elixir, the curse is no more," said Celeste. "They're free."

"You condemned her people to decades of agony, and now you just break the curse without so much as a whimper," Elijah countered. "Why?"

"Because it's the best thing I could do for her, and it's the worst possible thing I could do to you," Celeste began as she pushed herself off of the tree and circled Elijah with her hands still tied with the rope.

Elijah frowned. "What are you saying?"

"That, no matter what happens now, you've lost her. You destroy that jar, you kill me, and Hayley will hate you for snatching her family from her." Celeste smirked with the face of the witch she possessed. "Now, if you give her the jar, we both know that she'll leave you in the end to be with them, and I know that as long as she's alive and happy and fulfilled in ways that you can't even imagine, then I get my revenge. So, you decide." She chuckled. "Give her everything she ever wanted and lose her or deny it, see what happens then."

"I will have to say that you're wrong, darling," Kol said with a smirk, causing Celeste to turn to him with a raised eyebrow. "Elijah has the one thing that will brand him the noblest man that Hayley has ever seen by putting her first over any petty grievance with you."

Celeste frowned at Kol's behavior that had drastically changed in a mere blink of an eye.

"For all your planning and waiting, you have failed miserably," Kol taunted as he approached the witch. "You actually believed that little sob story my girl and I told you. It's not that it wasn't somehow true in a way, but we will always stand with our family. You just gave Elijah an edge, gave Hayley the cure to her pack's curse and told me a way to break my own."

Elijah scoffed, but was rather amused by his brother's tactics. "You've always been one for theatrics, little brother."

"Where would the fun be if I wasn't?" returned the younger. "Let's head back and give that potion to your girl."

"Kol," Elijah sighed.

Kol chuckled as he began to make his way back to his girl and Hayley. "I'm allowed to tease."

Elijah grabbed Celeste and followed Kol. The three of them trekked back to Gwen and Hayey's location. The brothers returned with Celeste to find Hayley sitting on a log with Gwen standing next to her, both of them alone.

Hayely stood up when she spotted them approaching. "You came back."

Gwen left Hayley and went over to Kol to give the werewolf girl a moment with Elijah.

"I'll always come back." Elijah nodded and extended the jar to Hayley. "Take it. Kol has confirmed that it will work."

"I recommend you mix it in a good pot of gumbo and distribute it," Kol offered. "The amount they consume doesn't matter so long as they have a drop."

Hayley smiled widely, her excitement practically oozing out of her before Elijah's very eyes and it warmed him up like never before, which made Celeste's revenge worth enduring. Gwen and Kol shared a knowing look while also keeping an eye on Celeste.

Hayley cleared her throat. "Eve and I will round up as many of our people as we can," she explained. "Come full moon, I can finally free my family.

Hayley caught Elijah by surprise when she engulfed him in a hug that had Gwen and Kol smirking.

"Hayley," Elijah began as he pulled away from the embrace to lock eyes with the woman that had managed to settle herself on a spot in his heart. He drew her in and placed a small kiss on her forehead that Hayley knew what meant, even though she was disappointed that he had placed his lips on a spot a little too high for her. "I wonder if they have any idea how lucky they are to have you."

Hayley smiled before she walked back to the encampments that Eve had built for the werewolves as the only werewolf that had not activated her curse, leaving Elijah, Kol and Gwen alone with Celeste.

Celeste hummed mockingly. "That was touching, such a chaste, little kiss. The Elijah I knew was never so meek."

Gwen scoffed at Celeste's taunts with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, the Celeste I knew was never so cruel," Elijah shot back as he turned to face his former lover that was flanked by his brother and Gwen. "What is it that you want? What's your end game?"

"Oh, this game never ends, Elijah," Celeste said with a shake of her head. "We're both immortal, you know."

"Then what's the point if you can't possibly win?" asked Gwen.

Celeste smirked over to the blonde. "But, I have." She turned back to Elijah. "You just lost the girl, the girl you never made a move on because you were so desperate to save your family. And now, your family lies in ruins."

Elijah took a deep inhale to keep his temper in check. "My family, despite all that you have done, will heal in time."

"If you had the time, maybe," said Celeste.

Gwen frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Do you guys really think Rebekah ran far and fast from here?" Celeste chuckled. "I bet she didn't."

Elijah's face hardened, as did Kol's when they both stared down Celeste. "She's long gone."

"Is she?" Celeste wondered, sarcasm laced with her tone. "She's with Marcel. Now, Marcel loves Davina. Davina is dead, but she could come back under the right circumstances."

"Damn it!" cursed Kol, realizing where Celeste was going with her argument.

Gwen sighed heavily. "They'll come back for Davina."

Elijah took a deep, calming breath. "They wouldn't dare."

"If any of you hadn't been so worried about Hayley and your cursed brother, you might have figured it out sooner," said Celeste. "But, you know who did have the time to think about it?" She smiled. "Your brother."

"Nik still has the dagger in his chest, right?" Gwen asked Elijah, even though she despised herself for even saying such a thing about the man she held dear to her heart. The eldest Original still stared at Celeste, so Gwen stepped in front of him, desperate to know if Rebekah still had time to escape. "Elijah!"

"I wonder what he'll do," taunted Celeste with a malicious smirk.

Elijah sped around Gwen and grabbed Sabine by the neck, his supernatural features manifesting when he unveiled Celeste's neck.

Celeste dared him with her eyes. "Do it."

Without further delay, Elijah bit into her neck and viciously fed on her.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I forewent writing about Rebekah with Marcel and Klaus with Camille because we all know what happened. It would also extend this chapter of the season a lot more and I know you guys want to get over this season and move on to the next, which is where things will get better and a lot more dramatic.**

 **Remember to review, Fave and Follow to your hearts content.**

 **See ya later!**


	35. Chapter 34

**Hey, guys! I apologize profusely for my tardiness, but my studies come first and it was really hard for me to find time to write and post. I've also rekindled my fire for this story while watching the new season, so I hope you guys can forgive me. I am also extremely grateful for your patience and dedication. I can't tell you how happy I am to have you guys.**

 **I think I owe you guys for this, so anyone who reviews can ask ONE question about the future or anything about the story and I will answer. I won't accept TWO questions in ONE. Only ONE question, but you guys need to be able to allow me to answer through your reviews.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34**

* * *

"What must be done to break your curse?" Elijah asked his brother as he gazed at the stars above them. "You _did_ find a way to release you from it, did you not?"

Kol nodded. "In few words, I only have to let the curse run its course and I'll know how to break it. I don't like it, but it's what's best when we don't have the witch who cursed me and don't even know what it'll do to me. I'd rather not tamper until I know what she did to me."

"You should have killed her," Gwen said with her arms folded over her chest as she glared down at Celeste where she awakened to find herself sitting against a grave in the Lafayette Cemetery.

Elijah sighed as he stood to the side while admiring the night sky above them. "Yes, but I still need her alive just for a while longer, if only to prove a point and possibly gain an ally."

"She'll only jump into another body if we do kill her, love," said Kol as he came to stand behind Gwen, his hands rubbing her upper arms. "It's best to keep her where we can torture her."

"Fine," Gwen sighed, but she still would have preferred to find a way to get rid of Celeste for good.

Celeste smirked groggily when she realized where she was. "Now, you didn't have to bite me to get me here." She reached up with her bound hands to check on the wound on her neck, looking down to find her fingers coated with her blood. "I wanted front-row seats to this show."

"And what show would that be?" asked Elijah.

"The one where you see your ' _always and forever_ ' pact come crashing down around you," Celeste said with a scratchy throat as she struggled to get back up on her feet. "It's a myth, Elijah, a myth I died for."

"And yet here you stand alive," said Elijah.

Kol huffed. "For now."

"Is that a threat?" Celeste challenged all three immortals in front of her.

Gwen reached back and punched her in the nose, essentially breaking it, causing both Kol and Elijah to stare at the blonde with eyes widened in surprise. "I'll rip you apart."

"Oh, there's always another pretty, young body for me to jump into," Celeste said as she held a hand to her bleeding nose. "From now on, every time you feel a connection to a woman, you'll be forced to wonder if it's me." As she talked, she backed away towards the entrance of the cemetery with the two vampires and witch following her with slow steps. "You'll trust no one and spend the rest of eternity alone."

Celeste finally managed to cross the threshold, a triumphant smirk on her lips. When Elijah tried to run after her with supernatural speed, he was stopped by an invisible barrier that prevented him from crossing the threshold after Celeste and pushed him back into the ground. Gwen went to his side, while Kol tried to do the same, but he also found an invisible wall preventing him from leaving the cemetery grounds.

Celeste cackled as she watched Elijah sitting on the ground. "I'm afraid you're trapped," she explained.

"Boundary spell," Gwen realized. "We let our guard down."

"Exactly," said Celeste. "The Originals can enter, but they can't leave."

Elijah stood back up on his feet as he glared at Celeste. "You wouldn't."

Celeste nodded. "I would, and I did."

"We have to warn Rebekah," Kol said as he reached for his phone, hoping that Rebekah had hers own on her person.

On the other side of the cemetery, Marcel and Rebekah found Davina's body wrapped in white cloth in her family's tomb. Marcel lowered the cloth to look at her face to make sure it was her before he covered it back up again. They had spent all day looking for the witch that had taken Davina's place in the Harvest to take her life and bring Davina back, which would then work as a way to save the young girl and also cloak themselves from Klaus' rage. The plan was well-thought, but they had wasted time and knew they were running out of it.

"I got you, D," Marcel cooed. "I got you." He picked her up in his arms and hurried toward the exit with Rebekah on his heels. Marcel was able to leave freely, but Rebekah found herself trapped when she tried to follow him. Marcel noticed her struggle and frowned. "What is it?"

"It's a trap," said Rebekah, her eyes wide as she stared at Marcel. "Run. Get Davina out of here."

"I'm not leaving you behind," Marcel argued.

Rebekah panicked as she looked to her surroundings to make sure that they were alone, fearing that Klaus would spring out and grab her out of nowhere. "You must."

"I will not leave you behind!" Marcel insisted, for he refused to leave behind the woman that had made a mark that no one else would.

"I swear I will join you," Rebekah said, deciding to not mention _how_ she would join him. "Go and get Davina someplace safe."

"I will," Marcel nodded and stared Rebekah for a long moment before he sped away with Davina's body.

Elsewhere, Elijah squared up to Celeste from inside the cemetery with Gwen and Kol at his sides. She merely smirked at them at her apparent victory, knowing that Rebekah was somewhere in the cemetery. Gwen went to step over the boundary spell to attack her again, but she was stopped by Elijah placing a hand in front of her to stop her advance.

"Rebekah's not answering," said Kol, tempted to throw his phone in a fit of anger.

"Don't worry, it's a lunar spell," Celeste appeased before looking to Gwen. "Your powers are nullified, but I must commend you for how much you've acquired. You'll all be free by the next moonrise. My guess is, your sister won't last that long." She continued to smirk. "Ah, while this body has been a hell of a lot of fun, I do think it's time I find someone else to play in, don't you?"

Both Elijah and Kol growled within their throat as they scowled at the woman putting their family in danger.

Celeste shrugged before she bent down and picked up a candle in a glass jar on the ground. She smashed it against a tree and picked up a shard of glass with her hands that were still tied with rope. She then proceeded to stab the glass into Sabine's neck with the three people watching her with unwavering eyes, except for Gwen who looked away and hid her face in Kol's shoulder. Celeste coughed as she fell dead to the ground. The coughing stopped as they all watched Celeste take Sabine's life, only to continue to live in another.

Suddenly, Monique came out of the shadows, looking disappointed that she had been wrong about Celeste.

"You were right," Monique sighed. She looked up at Elijah and pointed toward one of the mausoleums, revealing to Elijah that she had performed the spell he gave her earlier, having gathered Celeste's bones to use as a conduit.

Elijah and Kol walked toward the small, stone building with Gwen behind them. Within, Celeste's bones that had been covered by a white quilt took life and transformed into the body Celeste first died in, her original body. She gasped when she recognized the skin she wore and feared what would happen next. She stood up and bunched up the cloth to cover her naked body, looking around to find an explanation for what was happening.

"Hello, Celeste," Elijah greeted from the entrance, signaling Kol to hang back with Gwen. He entered, and Celeste backed away from him with insecure steps.

"How is this possible?" Celeste questioned while shocked and horrified.

"Monique Deveraux and I had a little wager regarding your ability to keep a promise," Elijah began as he slowly approached Celeste. "It appears I won." He continued to advance on Celeste, causing her to back away to find her back meeting a wall. "You were so consumed with my downfall, that you lost the trust of one of your own."

" _Non_." Celeste shook her head as she reverted to use her main language. " _Mon cheri, non. Tout est possible. Ce ñ'est pas fini_."

Her pleading and fast-beating heart did nothing to deter Elijah's resolve as he reached up to cup one of her cheeks. A scream left her lips when Papa Tunde's blade was plunged into her abdomen without a second thought as he thought back to what was done to his family in the last few hours.

" _Désolé_ ," Elijah whispered as her body dropped to the ground.

* * *

Having arrived in St. Anne's Church, Marcel hurried to the attic that had once belonged to his beloved ward. While it had once been filled with her drawings and belongings, now it was an empty space with no life in it, but Marcel hoped it wouldn't stay like that for long. He held on to her body tightly, having left the sheet wrapped around her before he slowly placed Davina's body on the unmade bed. He left her there as he began to pace out of anxiety, hoping that he had gotten the witch that had taken Davina's place in the resurrection ritual. He had to hold his breath, for once praying to anyone that Davina would come back to him.

Suddenly, a few mere moments later, gasping and moaning was heard as Davina's body came back to life with a large gulp of air filling her lungs after so long. Finding that she was trapped in the white sheet, she tried to claw it off of her. Shaking his head out of from its shocked state, marcel rushed to her side to help her.

"Davina," Marcel tried to sooth as he took the blanket off of her and threw it away, relieved to see her face and that she was all right. "You're okay," he said and repeated to the panting girl. "You're safe now," he reassured her, disliking how pale she looked, but he decided to deal with that later as he helped her to sit up on the bed. He cupped her face and forced her eyes to focus on him. "You hear me? You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you, okay?"

Davina, recognizing Marcel and the attic that had previously been her home, calmed down and relaxed in his embrace.

* * *

Gwen frowned when she thought she heard something, stepping away from the entrance of the crypt where Celeste's dead body was. She thought she heard some shouting, so she focused on her enhanced hearing. Kol stood with Elijah, neither knowing what to do, since they were all stuck in the cemetery due to Celeste's spell.

"Are you all right?" Kol asked Elijah as he leaned on the opposite side of the entrance of the crypt from where Elijah was. He didn't want to ask, but the tension was eating him alive, especially with how quiet Elijah was.

"I will be," Elijah said with a nod. "It's not every day that you discover that a woman you once cherished planned the destruction of your family, let alone having to kill her to end the torment."

Kol nodded with a sigh escaping him, glad that he wasn't dealt with such a fate. "For all that's worth, I'm sorry."

Elijah frowned and turned to Kol.

"What?" Kol asked after noticing the look his oldest brother shot him.

"Are you actually being sympathetic?" Elijah asked, a small smile tugging at a corner of his lips.

Kol snorted before glancing at Gwen, staring at the back of her head. "You have her to thank for any abnormal change I might have gone through."

"I'll be happy to," Elijah chuckled. "I can imagine you're quite happy with her." At Kol's nod, he continued. "Don't ever let her go. Our family might be filled with death and suffering, but we owe it to ourselves to be happy, as selfish as that sounds. It's only right that we have a right to fleeting moments of happiness, no matter what."

"Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?" Kol asked, not understanding how it all got switched. "You're the one that had to kill his ex, and yet you're somehow now comforting me. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Yes, but I'm the older brother," Elijah argued. "I'm supposed to always offer advice, even more so for you after having focused so much on Niklaus."

Kol smiled at this. "Thanks, 'Lijah." The younger brother noticed his lover's behavior and frowned. "What's wrong, darling?" he asked.

Gwen turned to them and exhaled heavily. "I don't know, but we're not alone."

Both Kol and Elijah frowned as they walked over to her, now becoming alert for any danger.

"Elijah?" a very distinctive voice said. "Kol? Gwen?"

All three of them turned to find Rebekah standing a few feet away from them. Rebekah approached her siblings and friend, completely surprised to find them there, since she thought she was the only one trapped in the cemetery. She then realized that it had to do something with the fact that it was all some sort of plan of Celeste's.

Elijah and Kol were the ones that were most surprised to find their sister there. They had to blink a few times to make sure that they weren't imagining her. The brothers hoped they were only seeing an illusion, for they knew what Klaus would do. And they knew that Klaus would have already healed enough to move by then and was probably on the hunt for their sister.

"What are you doing here?" Kol asked, wondering why his sister was there and what it meant if Klaus were to find out that she was still in New Orleans. "You shouldn't be here, sister."

"Nik doesn't have Papa Tunde's blade in his chest," said Gwen. "There's nothing stopping him now."

"Rebekah, you should be on the other side of the world by now," Elijah exhaled, at a loss as to what to do. His thoughts couldn't keep up with anything and were coming up blank.

"We all know that wouldn't have been far enough," said a defeated Rebekah.

" **Get away from her**!" Klaus bellowed to Kol, Elijah and Gwen after having found his sister with them. His supernatural features appeared on his face, showing what he truly was. "She's mine."

"Elijah," Kol began, "what do we do?"

"We've no choice," Elijah said as his grip on Papa Tunde's blade tightened.

Kol tilted his head as he stared at Klaus, his eyes going to the eternal White Oak in the hybrid's hand. While Elijah hissed as his eyes turned red and his fangs grew, Kol and Rebekah's faces also featured their vampiric features. They all prepared to attack one another, and Gwen felt useless, knowing that she either betrayed Klaus for his siblings or stood with Kol to protect Rebekah. She hoped that she could honestly say that Klaus wouldn't go so far as to use the White Oak on his own sister, but seeing him wield it rattled her. Unless he wasn't going to use it, Klaus wouldn't have brought that stake, so calling him on his bluff was not a way to go.

Finally, all of their supernatural features vanished after a few excruciating moments, no one knowing what to do.

"Rebekah!" Klaus called for her, since he expected her to walk forward and face him.

Elijah took a few steps forward to block Klaus's view of Rebekah. "Walk away," he whispered to his sister.

"Don't move!" warned Klaus, his predatory eyes focused on Rebekah and only Rebekah.

"Leave us now," Elijah contradicted. "Kol and I will hold him back."

Kol raised an eyebrow at Elijah. "We will?"

"I can't," Rebekah argued, hating herself for having returned.

"You have to," Gwen said as she grabbed onto Rebekah's arm with every intention of forcing her to leave.

"I _can't_ ," Rebekah said as she turned to Gwen. "I'm stuck here."

"Celeste trapped us all in here," Kol deduced. "The spell is linked to the bloody moon, so Gwen can't break it unless she destroys it."

Gwen sighed. "Great."

"He has a White Oak stick," Rebekah told them when Klaus pointed it at her.

"I brought it for you, sister," Klaus said as he approached them.

"Get out of his sight," Elijah told his sister. The longer Klaus was in her presence, the angrier the hybrid got. "Your presence here only serves to anger him. Leave him to us _now_." He glanced at Gwen nodded at her. "Take her."

"Bekah, go," Kol ordered, his eyes never leaving Klaus'.

Both Gwen and Rebekah left in a blur, searching for a place to hide in to escape Klaus' anger. Kol and Elijah blocked Klaus' path when they saw that he was about to follow the blonde women.

"This has nothing to do with you, Kol," Klaus tried to reason, deciding to get one of his brothers off his back. "She betrayed you once, didn't she? She could care less what became of you, which is why she threw you aside for a fleeting romance."

Kol looked smug as he grinned. "Well, first of all, you're actually threatening to kill my sister, so I honestly think that my involvement is necessary. Also"—his face hardened—"when in the bloody ell have I ever needed my brothers to exact my quests for revenge on anyone?"

"Then you shall share in her fate, should you get in my way," Klaus almost growled.

"I'm asking you," Elijah said as he stepped in, gaining Klaus' attention, "brother to brother—we end this nonsense now." He raised Papa Tunde's blade, ready for any attack on Klaus' part.

Klaus glared at his brothers. "You would both side with _that_ traitor?"

"I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister," Elijah countered.

"I understand that what she did was atrocious, but she does not deserve to die at your hands for a crime you drove her to commit," Kol said as he stepped closer to Klaus, unafraid of his brother. When it came to skill and speed, Kol knew he outmatched Klaus. They've both lived the same amount of time as vampires, and being a hybrid didn't change anything for Kol. The younger brother knew Klaus' way of fighting, so he was quite sure that he could match him.

Klaus scoffed. "She brought our father to the one place we have ever called our home," Klaus raged.

"Not mine," Kol said with a shake of his head. "I would love nothing more than to see our sister at the receiving end of your fury for once, but not at the cost of her life, not when I know where she's coming from." He gestured to the stake. "If you want to point that thing at anyone, I recommend you do so on yourself."

"I urge you to rethink about what you're doing, Niklaus," Elijah tried to calm down the hybrid once more. "This is not the way to handle this."

"We cannot leave this cemetery, my brothers," said Klaus. "How long do either of you think you can defend her?"

Klaus sped away from their sight, but he was suddenly thrown to the ground on his back due to Kol's shove that threw him back, standing in front of Elijah; out of the two of them, and even Elijah had to admit, Kol was a better fighter without a weapon. Klaus stood back up and growled when he came face-to-face with Kol and Elijah standing in front of him, knowing that they were both ready to fight him back with every intention of defending their sister. He tightened his grip on the White Oak, reassuring himself that he still had it.

"As long as it takes, by whatever means necessary," said Elijah.

Elsewhere, hidden inside a crypt, Gwen and Rebekah laid low just as the first rays of the morning appeared outside. The witch was determined to keep the Original vampire alive. Gwen paced around as she tried to think of ways to calm everyone down. She didn't want to hurt Klaus, which was why she refused to cast any spell on him when he was driven by anger. She hoped that, if he ever calmed down, that he would at least talk things out with his sister, but it was an almost impossible thing.

" _Do whatever it takes, just stay alive_ ," Marcel told Rebekah after she updated him on what happened. " _I promise you, I'll get you out of there_."

Rebekah sighed as she stood at the entrance of the crypt, her eyes finding two fo her brothers blocking Klaus' path. "I've never seen him like this before. He's out of his mind with rage, up all night howling one obscenity-laced tirade after the next." Through all odds, she managed to keep her voice from trembling, the image of her furious brother on the forefront of her mind. "He's gonna kill me."

"No, he won't. I'll just kick his ass," Gwen said as she paced around the inside of the crypt, her eyes wandering anywhere as she listened in on Rebekah's conversation.

" _Alright, stay as far away from him as you can_ ," said Marcel.

"That's a brilliant strategy," Rebekah huffed. "But, given that that dead bitch Celeste has trapped us in here 'til moonrise, my options are somewhat limited." She glanced at Gwen. "I have Gwen with me, so we should be able to fend him off, if he gets too close."

"That went well last time," Gwen remarked as she remembered their confrontation with Klaus in the sanatorium.

Rebekah gave Gwen a pointed look, receiving a shrug in return.

" _I'm not leaving you in there. Davina will find a loophole, get you out early. Then, we can all go together_ ," Marcel explained, as if it were that easy. " _If Klaus comes after us, we will take him on one hell of a ride_."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I've already thought about breaking the spell, but it's linked to the moon, which makes it quite difficult without the witch that performed the spell."

"Gwen's right," said Rebekah. "I lived for centuries looking over my shoulder, ready to run at a moment's notice. Am I to go back to that?"

" _Worry about that later_ ," said Marcel, not knowing how to answer her at the moment. His mind was focused on keeping her alive. " _Right now, just buy me some time. I promise you, I'll get you out of there_." And he hung up the call.

"So, Davina's alive?" Gwen asked as she came to stand next to Rebekah.

"Yes," answered Rebekah.

"You came back to get the girl because Marcel wanted to come get her when she would have probably been better off without being on the run with the two of you," Gwen affirmed.

Rebekah sighed. "Yes."

"That was stupid," Gwen mumbled as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You're telling me," Rebekah countered.

Gwen turned to face Rebekah with her arms crossed over her chest. "Bekah, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?" asked a frowning Rebekah.

"I mean, what's going to happen after this?" asked Gwen, trying to get to her point without causing a misunderstanding. "Klaus is your brother and he is hell-bent on killing you, so what is it that you plan to do to fix this?"

"There's no way of fixing this!" she exclaimed as she raked her fingers through her hair, starting at her temples. She was scared and anxious. Not knowing what was going to happen—not being able to visualize how the day was going to end—was something that Rebekah couldn't handle well. "I brought Mikael to New Orleans, but I only wanted to scare him off to be able to be with Marcel. I didn't know he was going to change his mind about us and give us his blessing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done what I did due to desperation for happiness."

Gwen quickly approached Rebekah and embraced her when she saw the first tears appear in the Original's eyes. She stroked the taller blonde's back, comforting her as best as she could before murmuring, "You have to tell him that, and maybe he'll be in his right mind to listen." She pulled away but still kept her hands on Rebekah's shoulders, offering an encouraging smile. "I won't allow him to hurt you, but this is a rift between siblings that only you can fix."

"Perhaps," said Rebekah, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Still, I was the one that caused this and things won't ever be the same for any of us, including you."

Gwen nodded, understanding that this was a point that no one would be able to cross unless something drastic or peaceful happens, but she believed the former was a safe bet.

Elijah and Kol stood a few feet in front of Klaus, none of them moving from their spots. It was tense, both Kol and Elijah knowing that they could not make a wrong move without risking Klaus getting by them to get to Rebekah.

"You've been at this for hours," Elijah sighed, his voice bored. "To what end? Niklaus, we know you, and we grew up fighting you."

"We know all of your tricks," Kol pointed out as he paced around at a leisurely pace, but he was careful about not letting Klaus out of his sight.

"You cannot beat the both of us, nor can we be persuaded." Elijah remained still on his spot, confident that, so long as he had Kol on his side, they would be enough to hold Klaus back. "You cannot get past us."

Their conversation being heard by both Rebekah and Gwen from inside the crypt they were hiding in.

"I could get past you both, although, it might have to be over your dead bodies," Klaus threatened. "You both stabbed me with that blade"—he gestured to Papa Tunde's blade in Elijah's hand—"forcing me to endure hours of unspeakable pain. Perhaps I should direct my rage toward you two." He pointed the stake threateningly at Elijah and Kol. "Which should go first?"

Kol raised his arms in defense. "I merely held you down because you broke our deal. So long as you didn't harm Gwen and she stood by your side, I wouldn't do something like that, but you just couldn't help yourself."

"I should have put you to sleep and she wouldn't have strayed from my side," Klaus returned. "I may have to do just that and drop you in the deepest parts of the Mariana Trench."

"You should see yourself," Elijah scoffed as he stood beside Kol. "The murderous expression, the self-righteous posturing, you look like Father."

Shocked and upset by the comparison, Klaus dropped the stake to his side while shaking his head. "I'm not him. Rebekah's betrayal justifies my anger. His was that of a madman." He pointed an accusing finger at both of his brothers. "Neither of you were ever the recipient of his cruelty, _none_ of you were! I think you've forgotten what he was truly like." The last words were more directed at Elijah.

Elijah exhaled heavily as his mind took him back to a moment when he had failed as an older brother. "No, I have not forgotten."

"You always whine about that," Kol said without a care if he was being crude, which only earned him a glare from his hybrid brother. "The man that was our father raised all of us by being nothing but cruel. Yes, he was tougher on you, but you have to move past it because you were not the only one that was raised by a monster. He never had any love for _any of us_!"

Klaus spent a few moments staring at his brothers before, all of a sudden, speeding away with his enhanced speed, but he was immediately stopped. He growled when he was met with Elijah and Kol in front of him, frustrated by their interference.

"Try all you might, Nik, but you're not getting past us," Kol said arrogantly, growing tired and upset with Klaus' attitude.

"Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him," he tried to reason with his brother, knowing that tensions were growing more and more as they prolonged what Elijah hoped was not the inevitable. "Do what he could not—demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty."

"You ask me to show mercy to one who has wronged me." Klaus huffed, finding the thought of forgiving what almost killed him to be ludicrous, even if the cause was his sister. "You really don't know me at all, do you, brother?"

"Then you are no better than Mikael," said Kol, challenging Klaus' temper, which seemed to do the trick as he eyed the White Oak.

"Stop," Gwen said as she appeared with Rebekah by her side. All eyes turned to the two blondes, both Kol and Elijah getting nervous with them being so close to a furious Klaus. She looked to the man she still considered to be her best friend. "I just want you to listen, Nik."

"Why should I?" Klaus countered, disliking the fact that Gwen was siding with his siblings instead of him. He had always thought that she'd be there for him to back him up, which made him think that he should have daggered Kol the moment he had found them after they left Mystic Falls the first time. "She conspired to kill me!"

"Allow her to explain!" Gwen remained firm. "I only ask that you hear her out, regardless of everything else. You owe her that."

"After what she did to me, I owe her nothing," he hissed.

"Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours," Rebekah said, her eyes locked on Klaus'. "You want revenge? Fine, but, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this."

"Go on, then, I'll entertain Gwen's proposal to hear you," Klaus said, inviting his sister to explain her reasons, though he was confident that it would all be irrelevant to his ears, for he was decided on what he wanted to do. "Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah and Kol to do so."

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed. Remember to tell me your thoughts and opinions in reviews, Follows or Faves!**

 **French to English Translation (I'm rusty, so I'll be asking Google Translate for help for the ones that I don't know):**

Non. **-** **No.**

 _Mon cheri, non._ **-My dear, no.**

 _Tout est possible._ **-Everything is possible.**

 _Ce ñ'est pas fini_. **-** **It is not finished.**

 _Désolé._ **-Sorry.**

 **There it is, and I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **See ya soon!**


	36. Chapter 35

**Hey, guys! A quick update and I hope I can maintain it. It's been quite crazy, but I'm trying to make it work. I'm loving the new season of The Originals, even though there is little screen time for Kol, but that doesn't mean it's going to be like that for when I reach that season. ;)**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 35**

* * *

It was quite early in the morning, in Camille's opinion, to be summoned to St. Anne's Church by Marcel with striking news. She could hardly believe what she was told until she entered the attic that belonged to the girl she thought to be dead. Still, considering the supernatural community and the trouble that it causes, it didn't surprise her too much that someone could be resurrected.

"Davina?" Camille sat on the bed, gathering the young witch for a quick hug. "Marcel told me you were up here. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Davina took in a breath, her voice wobbly from unshed tears. "I died," she exhaled. "And at first, I was alone, but then I heard them"—at Camille's inquiring look, she continued—"voices whispering to me."

Camille frowned. "Who?"

"The Ancestors," she answered, wrapping her arms around her legs. "They're so angry with me. I used my power against my own, I'm blamed for saving Gwen, and they said they'd do horrible things to me if I misuse my magic again."

"Wait, what does Gwen have to do with any of this?" asked Camille.

"Because of me, she got sick and was going to die for helping me," said Davina.

"She's a witch," Camille argued. "You were only helping a fellow witch. What's the problem with that?"

Davina whimpered at what she was told by the deceased witches. "They want her to die."

Downstairs, Kieran sat on a pew as he watched Marcel pace while deep in thought. They were having an argument of the biggest issue they had to deal with at the moment, which infuriated Kieran.

"So, a century ago, you betrayed Klaus, the most dangerous vampire in history, and the only one that can save you is the girl that you had locked up in my attic," Kieran huffed, not able to believe the grasp the tight spot Marcel found himself in. "But, she's a basket case. So really, your only hope is my niece, psychoanalyst to resurrected teen witches. Does that about sum it up?"

Marcel smiled wryly, stopping to face Kieran. "You're pretty smug for a guy with a witch's hex. Davina's magic is your only shot at a cure."

"Let's not dance around the obvious," Kieran remarked. He stood on his feet and approached Marcel. "This hex is going to be the end of me."

"Look, every spell has a loophole, alright?" Marcel stared at Kieran's physique, noticing a few things in his behavior that spoke of his problem, but he knew that the symptoms would only grow worse. Still, he needed to reassure Camille's uncle. He was confident that there was a way to help him. "You, of all people, should have more faith."

Kieran shook his head as he stepped away to approach the altar, staring at the statues of the figures he once prayed to for guidance. "I lost my faith when Sean died." He looked back to Marcel, completely defeated. "When I came back to New Orleans, I had nothing but hope of preventing a war between the vampires and the witches. And now, the witches are out of control, and you allowed an Original vampire to take control of the Quarter." He scoffed, eyes locked on Marcel's. "No, there is no hope—not for you, not for the city, and certainly not for me."

"I got Davina back," Marcel countered. "She will find a way to take down Klaus."

"No," Kieran huffed, a sarcastic smile tugging at his lips for a moment. He thought Marcel would have been smarter to accept the whirlwind of trouble he was in. "He's going to get out of this trap that he's in, and when he does, he's going to find you, and he is going to tear you into pieces." He shrugged. "You reap what you sow, Marcel."

* * *

"Let it begin!" Klaus announced, perched on top of a tomb with the stake made of White Oak in his hand. "The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson," he said, pretending to be a judge as his siblings and Gwen stared up at him from the ground.

"What a relief, his ego is in check," Rebekah muttered, annoyed with Klaus' attitude.

Gwen looked up at Klaus, being the one closest to him. "Do you have to do this?"

"Yes, Gwen," breathed Klaus. "Need I remind you what she did?"

"Don't speak to her like that," Rebekah chastised, calming down with Elijah's hand on her shoulder.

"Just speak your truth," he whispered to his sister before sitting down, making sure that Papa Tunde's blade at the ready.

Kol smirked up at Klaus. "We'll make certain he behaves himself."

"You stand accused of betraying your own blood," Klaus proclaimed. "How do you plead?"

"I plead you to shut up and listen," Rebekah said, growing even more annoyed with her brother.

"Pleas, you just have to listen," Gwen tried to reason. "She's your sister."

"Exactly, and yet she summoned our father." He looked to his sister. "You brought him to our home. What possible defense could you have?"

"I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run," said Rebekah.

Kol turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Not to make the situation worse, but you went about it poorly, Bekah."

"Kol," Gwen hissed.

"No!" Kol ignored Gwen. "I was fed up with Nik, but I would never be so dimwitted to actually call upon the man that would kill each and every one of us if we were to get in his way to get to Nik."

"Are you serious?" Rebekah glared at the youngest brother. "You know how he is."

Kol scoffed. "Like the time you snitched on me and got me locked up for almost a century?"

She pointed an accusing finger at Klaus. "He's never allowed us any happiness! He's only ever brought misery!"

"I beg to differ," said Klaus.

"Now is not the time for this," Elijah spoke up, trying to calm everyone down.

Kol glared up at Klaus. "Just because Gwen _happened_ to be with you and I met her, doesn't mean that you can take credit for it. Besides, you have always dominated all of us! We've never had a chance to actually live our lives because of your own fear!"

"I should very well put you back in your box," Klaus growled.

"Stop! Stop it!" Gwen screamed at them, receiving stares and silence before looking to Klaus. "You have to admit that it was no surprise that Rebekah acted this way, or if anyone else did the same thing." He opened his mouth to argue, but she stopped him. "Yes, she did something horrible, but it does not warrant for you to act like you are doing now."

"She deserves more than this," said Klaus.

"I only ever wanted you to run and leave us be," Rebekah whispered, not knowing how to tell Klaus the truth. She _had_ wanted him to run, her life had become depressing and she wanted to be free of him, no matter the cost. And she knew she was wrong, she knew that the second she realized that Mikael had reached New Orleans, but she also knew that trying to convince Klaus that she only wanted him to leave her be would be near impossible.

"Because you hated me," said Klaus, his chest constricting at the thought of his own sister hating him.

"Because you were hateful," Rebekah returned. "You denied me the freedom to love."

Klaus scoffed. "Oh, so that's your defense?"

"You should have gone with something else," Kol muttered, covering it up as a cough.

"You called Mikael—the _Destroyer_ , the Hunter of Vampires—because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors," Klaus confirmed.

"You were cruel, and controlling, and manipulative," Rebekah said. She refused to believe that she had wanted her brother dead, the same brother she adored so much.

"I was trying to protect you!" Klaus grew frustrated, his outburst causing Rebekah's brows to furrow in confusion. "From imbeciles, and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment."

Kol opened his mouth, but Gwen sent him a warning glare. "Don't say anything."

"I won't," he said as he raised his arms in defense.

"And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend?" Rebekah asked, having calmed down. "Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?"

Klaus sprang up to his feet, his blood boiling at the mention of his former ward. "Do not mention his name."

Rebekah shook her head in disbelief. "What has happened to you?" She took a deep breath. "I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you. How could you have fallen so far?"

"You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself," Elijah said as he stood up. "Perhaps it's you that's forgotten."

Klaus resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I remember the day that Father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife," Elijah said, remembering that day as if it happened yesterday. "He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life."

"I remember," mumbled Kol, his eyes focused on the ground as he remembered how his brother and sister brought back a beaten Klaus to their home. "You could barely move for days after." He looked up and locked eyes with Klaus. "Do you want to be that man?"

"You would both paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel," Klaus said, shaking his head in denial of what his brothers were trying to tell him. Tears gathered in his eyes when he turned to Rebekah, gulping down to keep his voice from breaking upon the memory of that beating. He couldn't allow himself to waver, preferring to hold onto his anger. "Perhaps that was why you did it—for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy, that her _great love_ —Marcel—used her to oust this family and to take my city!"

"Marcel did not manipulate me," Rebekah said while shaking her head.

Klaus pursed his lips. "You defend him, and yet you can't help but wonder"—he crouched, taunting Rebekah with a smirk—"what if I'm right?"

"We loved each other," Rebekah argued while scowling at Klaus. She would never believe the words her brother was saying. "It was your refusal to respect that that led to your ruin."

"Then why didn't he chase after you when you fled New Orleans?" Klaus smirked as he stood back up. "Oh, yes! That's right. He was here stealing what I built!"

"You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness?" Rebekah was seething, but the anger she felt came from a wound that Klaus had made long ago and countless times over the centuries. "I won't. Marcel is not at fault. _I_ called Mikael."

"Bekah—" Kol began.

" _I_ was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness!" Rebekah screamed at Klaus.

Kol exchanged a knowing look with Elijah, both prepared for the worst. Rebekah's outburst would only anger Klaus further, and they were both aware of that. The younger of the two pulled Gwen back to get her away from Klaus' way.

"I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either!" Rebekah continued her rant, throwing her feelings out in the open, shooting them at Klaus as if they were bullets. "Yes, I hated and I was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you, my bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now." She was unaware of Klaus grasping the stake tighter, ready to pounce. "I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!"

Furious, Klaus lunged at Rebekah with lighting speed as he roared but found he had pushed Gwen against a stone wall instead of Rebekah. Gwen had pushed aside the blonde Original into the ground. Klaus paused when he locked eyes with Gwen as he held the stake away from her heart, restraining himself from harming her. This gave Kol and Elijah enough time to act. Elijah had grabbed the stake from Klaus' hand before Kol tackled him away from Gwen and Rebekah. Once more, Elijah and Kol faced Klaus, but, this time, Elijah held both Papa Tunde's blade _and_ the White Oak stake. This left Klaus without a single weapon.

"Sister, leave us," Elijah asked of his sister as she grabbed on to Gwen.

"Gwen, go with her," Kol said, but he kept his eyes on Klaus.

Rebekah shook her head. "I'm not going—"

"I said, leave us, please," Elijah cut her off.

"Let's go," Gwen whispered to Rebekah, grabbing her hand to pull her away. "Come on!" She pulled harder when the Original resisted, but she still went to go back into hiding.

"You wouldn't listen to her, so now, you must deal with us," said Elijah, lifting both weapons in a threatening manner.

Kol grinned at Klaus. "What will you do now, brother?"

Inside a tomb, Gwen has finished placing a boundary spell that should work well against anyone trying to enter. She was kneeling at the entrance with her hands clasped together on her lap, staying inside as she focused on building up the strength of the barrier, whereas Rebekah paced inside as she spoke to Marcel through her phone.

"What a fool I am," Rebekah sighed, her voice sounding defeated. "I actually thought Davina would come to the rescue."

"It's not like I'm here, covering to save your ass," Gwen remarked, her eyes closed.

Rebekah tapped the back of her head. "Hush and focus."

"Yes, _mom_ ," Gwen muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm but went back to work on the barrier.

" _I'll get someone else_ ," Marcel assured Rebekah. " _Whole town is full of witches_."

Rebekah knew there was no hope there. "All of whom despise you."

" _I'll figure this out_ ," Marcel countered. He was going to do everything in his power to save Rebekah, he owed her that much. " _Meantime, just don't piss Klaus off any more than he already is._ "

Gwen smirked. "Too late for that," she sang.

"I don't like how Kol's rubbing off on you, now hush," Rebekah reprimanded, so Gwen went back to her spell. The Original returned to Marcel. "It's a little late for that. I may have provoked him further. But then, I didn't much care for his accusations that you seduced me into bringing Mikael."

Marcel frowned. " _Wait a minute, I would never do that_. "

"We almost got away," Rebekah lamented, thinking about what could have happened. "If we just kept going, we could be anywhere in the world by now. Klaus might've found us and killed us, but he'll do that, anyway." She smiled bitterly as she sat down on a bench. "Would've been nice to have a little happiness first."

" _He's not gonna kill you, you're his sister_ ," said Marcel.

Gwen finished building the barrier, but she remained still to allow Rebekah some privacy.

"And you're like a son to him," Rebekah argued Marcel's logic, "and, believe me, he means to kill you." She sighed as she realized something for the first time. "You know, I've never much thought about dying. One of the perks of being immortal, I guess. What an odd thing it is, to be here one minute and gone the next. Rather terrifying."

"Rebekah—"

She stopped him from continuing, saying, "You need to run, Marcel. When the moon reaches its apex, Klaus will be free, and he will do to you what he's going to do to me, only worse. Go now and don't look back." She hung up the phone as tears gathered in her eyes. She jumped when arms hugged her shoulders, only to find that she had not noticed Gwen sitting beside her. "I don't want to die."

"You won't," Gwen said, smiling. "He won't kill you, Rebekah. You guys have been through so much together. He'll come to his senses soon enough."

"First lesson on how to be an immortal," Rebekah began. "Soon enough can last forever." She placed her head on Gwen's shoulder, taking comfort from where she could. She felt so small and vulnerable, knowing that a monster prowled outside.

Outside, Elijah and Kol continued their confrontation with Klaus, keeping him away from Rebekah, even though he was without a weapon to do any permanent damage.

"You said it yourself, Kol, she does nothing but betray us," Klaus pointed out, trying a new tactic. "She's fabricated against you, so why not make her pay for her crimes. It's what she deserves."

"Only because she slighted _you_ ," argued Kol. "Besides, nothing she has done to me would make me want to either plunge a knife of eternal pain or White Oak into her heart. She's our sister, and I will fight you to the end of time to keep her safe from you."

"Is that how it's gonna be?" Klaus scoffed. "Elijah, you hold both weapons. Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good."

"Well—unlike you, brother—I have no taste for fratricide." Elijah held up at stake for a moment, standing behind Kol. "I only hold this to keep it from you." He held up Papa Tunde's blade. "This is just my insurance."

"Why must you defend her?" Klaus alternated his eyes from Elijah and Kol. "Rebekah betrayed you both, as well, when she brought Mikael here. She put us all at risk."

"As Kol said, she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became." Elijah recalled a memory to when he and his siblings were all children, wrestling and laughing in the woods near their home. He remembered how he and Finn looked after them, away from the tragedies of their parents in search of some relief. "She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life."

"My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful," said Klaus, pushing away any inkling of any emotion that was not anger.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Can you not then accept some small part of the blame?"

"Your cruelty and unfairness led to many of your conflicts with us," Kol supplied. "You have been the puppet master of many sorrowful moments in our lives, only to be recompensed with little than we deserved." He huffed, grinning at Klaus. "And here you are, acting like the victim again."

"Do you not see?" Klaus grew frustrated, not understanding how neither Elijah nor Kol could see through Rebekah's actions. "She didn't mean to chase me off. She wanted me dead."

Elijah shook his head. "You're wrong."

"She has always hated me," said Klaus.

"Are you deluded?" Kol hissed. "She cares for us all.

You know that's true, brother. And she would go to any length for each of us. Yes, she can be stupid sometimes and make idiotic decisions, but she is supposed to rely on us to protect her, not cause her to feel so frightened and despaired that she would actually turn to Mikael!"

"Truer words have never been spoken," said Elijah. "You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you." Another memory entered his mind, a memory he would have wanted to revisit, maybe change the outcome. "When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous. And never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father."

Both Klaus and Kol glanced at Elijah with furrowed brows, having no memory of this.

"What?" Kol asked.

Klaus was not quick to believe such a thing. "What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?"

"It is the truth," Elijah said to both of his brothers. "I was there. And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself."

Kol would have voiced his opinion, but he knew that it would anything but help their situation. He was confident that he would have gone through with it, but he was not presented with such a moment. He feared their father to the point that he avoided the man at all costs, preferring to hide and practice on his magic than to hunt and fight like his father wanted. It was rather lonely, but that was how he met Jen, which led to everything else.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Klaus asked, turning away.

"Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking. She's short of temper, she's quick to fall in love, but she loves you," Elijah said, emphasizing on the last few words. "But, your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her."

Klaus glared at his siblings. "I can." He blurred away with supernatural speed, trailing after the scent of Rebekah, but his way was blocked once more by his brothers. Kol was the one in the front, ready to attack, while Elijah held both weapons in a defensive stance.

Elijah hissed, "Niklaus, so help me—"

"Are you really going to stand against me?" Klaus gestured to Elijah. "And not with that pathetic blade, you'd just have to pull it out someday, and then I'd hate you as I do her. No, if you want to protect Rebekah, you'll need to use the White Oak stake."

His previous work went through Kol's mind, berating himself for having not finished it. Not that it mattered, since he promised Gwen not to use it.

Elijah scoffed as he lowered the blade and the stake at his sides. "I don't have to listen to this nonsense."

"Elijah," Kol warned when he saw his brother walk past him to approach Klaus.

"Oh, don't pretend you haven't thought about it," Klaus taunted, trying to lower Elijah's defenses the only way he knew how. "You look at me, and you see everything you abhor in yourself. Sure, you dress it up with your fancy suits and your handkerchiefs."

"'Lijah," Kol tried once more, but he was being ignored.

"You, with your mask of civility and eloquence, you're every bit the abomination I am." Klaus now stood right in front of Elijah, their breaths mingling in the cold air. "Or worse. Go on, Elijah. Go on. Use the White Oak stake."

Elijah threw away the stake in anger, wanting to prove his brother wrong. This only caused Kol to grow even more nervous. He would never use the stake on one of his siblings, but he would sure use it to keep them at bay, which was what they needed now.

"I'm not so cowardly that I have to kill you, Niklaus, but if I have to make you suffer to protect Rebekah, that is what I will do," Elijah challenged.

Klaus smirked. "You see?" He stepped away from his brother. "I knew you couldn't do it. You still cling to the hope that I can be redeemed, and if the bastard can be saved, then maybe there's hope for you."

Klaus went past Elijah, his target having been Kol, who had his neck snapped harshly. Elijah had little time to react, merely hearing Kol gasp before bones being cracked. When he turned to help Kol, the blade in his hand was turned to him before being plunged into his chest.

"There," Klaus watched pain take over Elijah's features as he gasped for air, hoping to relieve the pain. The blade disappeared into Elijah before he dropped to the ground near Kol. "Now you know how it feels."

"That was supposed to be my line."

Klaus turned away from the bodies of his brothers to find Rebekah holding the White Oak stake she picked up from where Elijah threw it, having left the security of Gwen's barrier to confront her brother.

"Now, I have this," she lifted the stake in defense of herself. "So I decide who lives and who dies." She glanced at Elijah's writhing form. "I'm taking out that blade."

"You'll have to kill me first, and now you hold the means to do so," Klaus challenged, keeping his eyes on the stake. "Why not finish what you started a century ago?"

Rebekah kept the blade pointed at Klaus. "I did not want you dead, I wanted you to run."

"Liar!" Klaus exclaimed, causing her to flinch. "You wanted revenge."

"You drove me to betray you, and now you want to twist it and make it worse so you can justify killing me instead of accepting your own fault," she said, berating him for his manipulation. "All I did was love your friend. You could've been happy for us, but instead, in your paranoia, you feared losing us both. And, because of that, you did." She shook her head in disappointment. "There is no one else to blame, Nik, only you.

"Where is Marcel now, hmm?" Klaus questioned her. "I thought he loved you, and yet he left you trapped in here with me."

Rebekah knew that she only needed to distract him.

* * *

"The trouble with the witches in this city is they lack direction," Genevieve explained to Marcel, who had come to the Lycee to ask her to save Rebekah from Klaus' fury. "Fortunately, our coven has found a new leader—me." She turned away from a shelf, having picked up a jar, to face Marcel. "You ask a favor of me, to lower Celeste's boundary spell, but you don't control the witches anymore."

Marcel nodded. "You want to help your people; you need to broker peace, a treaty with the vampires. I can help."

Genevieve huffed. "The last time I arrived for a negotiation, you tried to kill me."

"I learned my lesson." Marcel raised his hands in surrender. "If you can't beat them, make them an offer. So, here's the deal. You help me right now—you have my word—vampires stay out of the Cauldron. No more executions."

Genevieve nodded. "A nice start, but if you want my help lowering that spell, you're going to have to give us Davina Claire." She walked away, working with the item that the jar held.

"Haven't your people done enough to that girl?" Marcel challenged, though he knew that Davina would have been a topic of discussion. He had heard what she told Camille about her experience with the Ancestors, which was why he came to Genevieve, unable to ask the young girl any more than what she had already given.

"You must know it's your fault she suffered in death. She was shunned by the Ancestors because of her alliance with you, but all that's over," Genevieve explained, glancing at him for a moment before turning back to what she was working on. "Now we can welcome her home. She will be revered by her people, and I will teach her how to control her power, give her a home where she's safe"—she gave Marcel a look full of disdain—"not surrounded by vampires. Bring Davina to us, and I'll find a way to break Celeste's spell." She walked back to Marcel, smirking. "If not, well, let's just say that I won't be the one to mourn Rebekah."

Marcel contemplated her words, unable to decide what to do, but he knew that he couldn't take long. Every second he wasted was a second Rebekah was fighting to stay alive.

* * *

"You against me." Klaus stared at his sister with nothing but amusement, but he knew better than to underestimate her. "It's hardly a fair fight, is it? I mean, perhaps, if Marcel were here, you'd stand a chance, but I expect he's already found another girl, no doubt younger and prettier."

Rebekah made a face of disgust. "You take joy in other people's pain, and then you wonder why I hate you."

"Yes and that hatred led you to do what you did," Klaus said, his approach causing her to backtrack. "Admit the truth. Admit you wanted me dead."

"I wanted you to run—that is all—despite your delusions," she argued.

"Elijah lies suffering," Klaus gestured to their eldest brother, "and I will allow you to help him. All you have to do is admit it."

Rebekah shook her head. "You're insane."

"Yes! Yes!" He shoved an accusing finger in her direction. "I am a vicious, heartless monster, and so you summoned Mikael to kill me. Admit it."

"It's not true," she returned.

"You know what you did," Klaus continued his verbal assault. "Admit it."

"I didn't," Rebekah said, her voice faltering a bit.

"You wanted me dead!" He was now mere inches away from her face. "Admit it."

Rebekah stopped for the first time to think about what she did all those years ago. She remembered the frustration and desperation to escape the cage her brother had put her in, but she hadn't been the only one. She had thought that things would have been better with him gone, and so for a fleeting moment she was sure that she thought about Klaus no longer being there. It drove her to think about what it would have been like if Mikael had succeeded in getting to Klaus.

"Maybe I did," she whispered. She looked up and saw her mistake when Klaus stared at her in disbelief. She realized that he had only been pushing her without really wanting her to say the words that slowly broke him. He stepped back, his emotions overwhelming him. "Nik—"

Out of anger, he swiped the stake from her hand and was about to stab her with it, but he frowned when he felt a rather strong, green pulse of energy that caused Rebekah to fall on the ground unconscious. He was familiar with the feeling behind the shockwave as it lightly touched him within, as if a warm hand was placed on his chest to stop his advance. He looked ahead and found Gwen staring at him.

"I believe it's time we had a heart-to-heart, don't you think, Mouse?" she said, her lips in a thin line and her eyes blank.

Klaus sighed.

It was going to be an even longer and difficult day for him.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed. Remember to review you guys. I also want to ask you all what you think about the Kol in this new season and mine. I think the Kol I write is a bit less prone to recklessness, which I link it to his relationship with Gwen, but I'd like to know your thoughts about it. I also don't know what to think about Davina in this new season. She's a bit off and I am not too fond of ehr so far, but that' just me and you guys can tell me what you think. It helps with what I'll be writing next. Thanks!**

 **I'll be answering the questions sent to me after the end of the chapter as I promised, which was only one so far. For those that want to still ask something, you can, but only ONE question per person, and I'll be keeping an eye on you guys.**

 **Kim: So I also started out as a psychology major, but I switched to medicine, focusing on nursing and will be going to my master's.**

 **See ya soon!**


	37. Chapter 36

**Hey, guys! I have brought you all another chapter for you all to enjoy! I have to say that I loved Season 4 and can't wait to write more for this story. I apologize for taking so long, but having to write multiple stories at the same time keeps me from focusing on only one.**

 **Remember, I own nothing belonging to The Originals, except for the obvious.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 36**

* * *

"I won't allow you to do any more harm than you already have. You'll regret it," Gwen announced, her hands flickering with green mist.

Klaus gave her a smug look. "We'll see about that." He lunged at her, but she saw his attack coming. At great speed, he had almost reached her, but she merely used her own slower pace to move out of his way. He crashed into a stone wall, but he still kept a tight grip on the White Oak stake. "You're pissed at me, so why not fight back?"

"Because that's what you want," she countered. "I refuse to give you pleasure in your torturous pursuit of your sister." She generated a ball of energy that she shot at the Original, throwing him back into a tomb.

Klaus grunted as he stood back up. "I admit, I deserved that one," he said, remembering when they were in the sanatorium and he attacked her. "But, that will be the only shot you'll get."

Gwen huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can never bring yourself to harm me."

He looked up at her from his crouched position. "You're sure about that? I could snap your neck without even blinking."

"Yes, but you know I can't die like that," she countered.

Seeing her drop her guard, he lunged again. This time, she allowed him to grab her neck and thrust her against a wall. Their eyes were locked on one another, neither wavering as they stood their ground. "You went against me," he hissed. "You, of all people, should know better than to betray me!"

"I did not betray you. Your paranoia has consumed you," she whispered. "You allowed your anger to take control and even worse is the fact that you let someone else use it to manipulate you. I thought you were better than that, Niklaus."

With a surprised gasp, Klaus released her, her using his name causing goosebumps to appear on his arms. It had been years since she last used his full name, and it proved to do the correct effect on him as he backed away from her. He loathed it whenever she used his full name, considering that it meant that she was very upset. It always made him nervous because he was never sure what she would do. She had only ever used his full name twice with him, both times resulted in him having _all_ of his bones broken. He may have lived a thousand years and experienced many types of pain, but that did not mean that he was impervious to it.

"Is this it?" Gwen questioned Klaus as they relocated to a more spacious area, away from where Klaus' siblings were on the ground. "All of your hard work to keep your family safe and close has led you to distance yourself from them. You're planning to murder your own sister!"

"It's their fault for having betrayed me to a maniac," Klaus argued as he paced, matching Gwen's steps as they circled one another.

"They didn't mean to!" Gwen scoffed, "You sound like a child."

"They have all betrayed me!" he roared. "Rebekah called Mikael to kill me and admitted to wanting me dead. Elijah and Kol both chose to not just protect her but to stab me with that blade. None of them have any sense of loyalty, including you." He turned away from her, glancing down at the stake in his hand that was growing to be a heavy weight.

"You don't mean that," Gwen whispered, staring at his back. "Nik, you have walked this earth with those people for a thousand years. They give their all for their family, sacrificing their own happiness for the sake of remaining united." She stopped her pacing. "As for me, I was keeping you from making a mistake that would haunt you for the rest of your immortal life!" She showed him the stake that she swiped off him when he wasn't looking, to which he huffed at.

"She needs to be punished!" said Klaus.

"Then banish her or don't speak to her, but you don't go causing this type of thing. I understand that you are all the definition of dysfunctional, but you're still family," Gwen tried to explain. "Family is forever, Nik. They're the only thing you'll ever have, the only people you'll be able to trust and you damage it on a daily basis, not understanding how lucky you are to have them for such a long time." She took a deep breath, steadying herself so as to not lose her temper. "Once you inflict a permanent wound, it will only fester and become worse. Yes, Rebekah did something wrong, but you cannot fault her for having grown so desperate that she sought the man that you all feared. I'm sorry, but you drove her to this."

"She hates me," he tried to argue.

Gwen gave him a look as he sat down, placing the stake next to him. "She does not…not truly. I don't think siblings can truly hate one another. She said so herself, she adores you, Nik. But, you have done something so horrible that it caused her a great deal of pain." At his curious eyes, she continued. "You broke her heart, her soul and her trust." She approached him, careful with her steps. "She isn't the only one." She glanced at Kol and then Elijah. "You have damaged their trust in you to the point that they prefer not to be around you and are prone to protect themselves by doing things that anger you. You can rage and rant about it, but you can't blame them."

Klaus realized the truth in her words. The behavior of his siblings toward him took a more drastic change in the recent decades with how they plotted behind his back, trying to build their own lives, but that all turned into many wars that put them at odds against one another. It was soon clear that they were all turning bitter whenever they were in his presence, always expecting the worst from him and he couldn't blame them for that, but he still clung to the very few memories that were good when they laughed and had a good time without any secrets. He wished he could go to those times, to when they were a _family_.

"Nik." Gwen now stood in front of him as he stared at the ground. She knelt down in front of him, placing her hands on top of one he had on his knee. "I know you love your family." He looked up at her. "You love them so much that you can't stand it. It drives you to keep them safe, but you go about it the wrong way."

"I can never do right," he said.

Gwen went to sit next to him, wrapping her arms around the one she was next to, bringing his attention with her. "You can, but you can't seem to do it all of the time. I don't think anyone can." She grinned at him. "I also know that you never meant to kill her."

"You can see right through me," he huffed. He never understood that about her. She had a knack for seeing him for what he truly was; not only that, she always tried to understand him. While his siblings butted heads with him, she merely threw a few punches to calm him down and talked.

"I kind of have to," she said with a shrug.

Klaus took a deep breath before exhaling. "We've been through a lot, you and me."

"Not as much as you've gone through with your siblings," she countered.

Hours passed. Night arrived and once more tainted the sky black with the stars and moon shining brightly. Klaus contemplated his options from where he sat on a nearby tomb with the White Oak stake next to him, since he finally realized what he almost did to Rebekah. Gwen had gone to where Kol was with his head on her lap as she waited for him to wake up. The full moon mocked both of them. While it granted Klaus the opportunity to carry out a punishment he didn't want to do, it caused great fear in Gwen, since it would mark the start of the enchantment placed on Kol the moment it waned.

A pained groan came from Kol's lips as he slowly woke up, feeling a sting in his neck from when Klaus broke it. He relaxed when he felt gentle fingers combing through his hair, which needed a little trim to keep it off his eyes. His eyes fluttered open to find Gwen smiling down at him.

"Good evening, darlin'," she murmured, causing a smile to appear on his lips.

Kol's eyes widened when they settled on the moon above them. "Rebekah?"

"Everything's fine," she assured him. "Nik calmed down after I talked to him. Still, I don't know what he plans to do. I don't think he can ignore what Rebekah did, but I don't believe that killing her is the right decision."

"No," Kol sighed, deciding to rest on Gwen's lap before doing anything. "I can understand him, but I can never bring myself to kill her. Rebekah's betrayed this family, but I know a few things about that with the reputation I have. Yet, we can't ignore what she did."

"I know," Gwen sighed, both of them succumbing to the silence of the night.

The quiet was disturbed by Rebekah as she approached Klaus with wary steps after having woken up.

"Gwen saved me," Rebekah claimed, knowing that the cause of her losing consciousness was due to Gwen's magic. "You were going to kill me."

"Perhaps," Klaus muttered. "Or, perhaps I never meant to kill you. Perhaps I just wanted you to feel a fraction the fear I felt when Father came for me." He looked up at her with blank eyes. "You owe Gwen for having opened my mind to what I was prepared to do, forsaking the consequences."

Rebekah took a deep breath. "Do you yourself know the truth?"

"I know this," he began. "You accuse me of being evil, and yet you are the one who conspired to kill your own blood." This statement caused the first tears to flow down Rebekah's cheeks. "You've done so to each one of us at some point in our time together."

Rebekah shook her head and said, "You made our lives a living hell. You tormented us."

"I love my family," Klaus confessed, his voice catching in his throat at the intense emotion that almost seemed to overwhelm him. Finally, the mere thought of Rebekah betraying him brought forth a sadness he had long forgotten and thought would never feel; it caused tears to trail down his cheeks. "You, Elijah, Kol—I loved all of you." He stood up and walked toward Rebekah, looking her in the eyes as he composed himself. "I know I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me."

"He ruined me, too," she whispered quietly. "That's what you forget. Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia." She looked down at herself. "Me with my fear of abandonment." She glanced to where Kol was talking with Gwen. "Kol with his pursuit of acceptance, living in shadows. And poor Elijah." She looked over at where Elijah's laying on the ground, Papa Tunde's blade still stuck in his chest. "He dedicates himself to everyone _but_ himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet, we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of _cursed_." She paused as she deadpanned, tears both her and Klaus' eyes. "Always and forever."

Klaus walked away from Rebekah and went over to Elijah, having satisfied his need to get back at Elijah for having stabbed him with Papa Tunde's blade. He also needed the time to calm his raging emotions that threatened to consume him and his mind was still absorbing what Rebekah and Gwen said.

Rebekah approached Gwen and Kol, kneeling down to check on her brother. "How is he?" she asked the other blonde, believing her brother to still be unconscious due to his eyes being closed.

"I'll be fine, sister," Kol said, catching her by surprise when he opened his eyes. He sat up and rotated his neck. "I got the better end of his wrath. That blade is bloody scary."

"You're a master of witchcraft and yet you're scared of a little trinket like that?" Rebekah managed to tease.

Kol smirked. "I'll have to add it to my collection, if I still had it."

Gwen remained quiet as she watched the siblings have a much needed talk.

"He spared you," Kol stated, glancing at his sister.

Rebekah nodded. "He did." She looked to Gwen and smiled, the latter returning the gesture. "With a little birdy's help."

"It won't last. Nik will probably get angry later on and lunch his attack," he said, a million scenarios going through his mid. "I'll just have to fight him for what remains of this accursed spell."

Rebekah smiled at what Kol was prepared to do for her. He always had her back, but she realized that she never returned the favor with the same treatment as he did. "Have I thanked you for going so far for me, even risking Nik's wrath?"

Kol turned to her and grinned. "No, but you don't need to say it, Bex."

"I do," she sniffled, the tears coming to her eyes, catching Kol's attention as he grew concerned for her. "I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, Kol. I have been dreadful and turned my back to you when you most needed me. I shouldn't have done that." She would have continued but her voice got caught.

Kol exhaled and placed a hand on Rebekah's head, ruffling her hair. "It's in the past." He hugged her to his side. He knew that, even if they escaped their entrapment, she wouldn't be staying in New Orleans. "You're my sister, never forget that."

"I won't, but do me a favor." She pulled her head away to face him while still being held in his embrace. "Keep Weny safe. She's changed you, whether you know about it or not. She's even made quite an impression on me, which is a very hard thing to do when it comes to any of my brothers finding a woman."

"I know," he sighed, still smiling. "I know."

Rebekah leaned in close to his ear. "And you better not have a wedding until I get back."

Kol laughed. "Not up to me, little sister."

Gwen smiled as the siblings interacted with one another from afar, hugging her legs to ward off the chilly air. She really did miss having a sibling.

* * *

"So we have a deal?" Genevieve asked Marcel, who came to her establishment to settle the deal she had proposed.

"Davina is asleep. When she wakes up, I'll explain everything," he told her. "Then I'll bring her here. Meantime, we need to lower that barrier."

"Celeste cast a powerful spell. Fortunately for you, she's gone," she informed him. "Her power bled back into the earth." She lit a candle as she faced Marcel. "Now, I can channel it, manipulate it," she finished explaining what she was going to do. "It'll take some doing, but then, I'm pretty good at what I do."

Marcel nodded. "One more thing, I need you to fix the priest."

Genevieve chuckled as she walked around Marcel. "Sorry. A hex like that, if it's had time to take root, there's no undoing it."

"Fine," Marcel sighed. He regretted not being able to do any more for Camille, but Rebekah was a priority. "Just get Rebekah out."

"I'll have to undo the entire spell." She looked up at him. "Can't let one Original out without letting them all out."

"It doesn't matter." Marcel shrugged his shoulders. "And just so you know, even if Klaus is free, if you hurt Davina in any way—"

"Marcel, it's over." Genevieve cut him off with a smirk. "You lost. Try and have a little dignity." Marcel turned to leave, but she stopped him. "Also, I'll need one last thing to complete this deal."

Marcel scoffed. "Are you serious?"

Genevieve nodded. "Very much."

"What is it?" he sighed, knowing that he had no other choice but to comply to her requests if he wanted to save Rebekah.

"When the time comes, I need you to make a delivery to me," she said, smirking.

* * *

Kol grinned as he helped Elijah up to his feet. "How was it?"

"Not something I'll be trying anytime soon," said Elijah as he adjusted his suit. "Where's Rebekah?"

"She's fine," Gwen said as she appeared from behind Kol.

"For now," Kol huffed.

Gwen gave them a small smile. "All we need is time to heal." She then deflated as she placed her forehead against Kol's chest. "I'm so tired."

"I know," he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, burying his nose into her hair. "As soon as the barrier's down, I'll take you back and pamper you."

Elsewhere, Rebekah stared up at the sky near a gate that led out of the cemetery. She knew that Marcel would do anything in his power to help her, but she still had to wait for the full moon to disappear and then the barrier that kept them all in would be gone. The time they had to spend there would be tense and rocky, and would not provide enough time to heal the wounds that had been inflicted.

"We're still trapped in here." She felt Klaus' presence behind her, but she was too tired to continue to be alarmed. Whatever he was going to do to her, she was prepared to accept it. "Whatever you're going to do to me, do it now."

"You said our father ruined us." He came to stand next to her as they both stared at the gate, the border of the cemetery being the boundary that kept them trapped. "And I can't help but wonder, what if his father ruined him?"

A strong gust of wind blew, carrying brown leaves in small twisters of wind. The wind was strong enough to open the gate with a creaking sound, indicating that the spell had been broken. Rebekah couldn't help but think of Marcel and it brought a grateful smile to her lips, though she had already decided to face Klaus.

"The barrier is down," said Klaus.

Rebekah breathed and exhaled, "I know you hate me, but what's done is done."

"What's done is never done," Klaus argued. "It remains within us, a story we tell ourselves so we know who we are—vicious father, a bastard son, and the sister who betrayed him. Perhaps it's time for a new story." He turned to his sister. "What is it you want, Rebekah?"

Rebekah locked her eyes on him. "Same things that I've wanted since I was a child." She looked back to the open gate that was a mere few feet away from her. It called to her and promised her the freedom that she always wanted. "I want a home. I want a family. I want someone to love me, and I want to live."

Klaus took a few steps ahead of her before facing her once more. "Then go." This caught Rebekah off-guard, but she masked her surprise with an impassive face. "Go far away and never come back. We are far too damaged to remain together, less a family now than a volatile mix of ingredients. New Orleans will be mine. I will raise my child here in the city you took from me. No doubt, Elijah and Kol will choose to stay, but you?" He locked eyes with the sister that he loved and held close to his heart. "Sister, you are free."

Shocked, Rebekah took one last look at her brother before leaving the cemetery. Klaus watched her walk away with a single tear escaping his left eye.

After leaving the cemetery, Rebekah went straight to gathering her things, anything she could put in her red convertible before she started to make a few stops. One of those stops was the old plantation that was now a burnt ruin of their former home. She walked around in the first floor, seeing if there was anything she could salvage while carrying a lantern. She finally found what was left of the living room before the music of crickets was drowned out by the sound of footsteps.

"I thought I might find you here," said Elijah.

Rebekah nodded with a bittersweet smile. "I just came to collect the last of my things that didn't burn to ash." She let out a mirthless chuckle. "I'll be leaving shortly. I don't suppose you have any desire to join me."

Elijah smiled awkwardly and decided to say, "I do hope you find everything you're looking for."

"Elijah, when I brought Mikael, I never for a second meant to hurt you," she quickly explained, her chest still constricted with the thought of what could've happened due to her actions. In her pursuit for happiness, she almost eradicated what remained of her family and that was something that weighed heavily on her mind.

Elijah nodded in understanding. "I know."

"I was certain that Klaus meant to kill me," she continued. "Whether he never really did at all, or he changed his mind...maybe somewhere, deep down, he still is the brother we once knew."

"Very deep, but he's still in there," Elijah said, smiling ruefully.

With care and savoring her moments with her brother, Rebekah went over to him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Help him find his way," she whispered before she took her leave, taking the light with her and leaving her brother behind in the ruins of the place that once had been his family's home.

Once outside, Rebekah was pleasantly surprised to find Gwen leaning against the hood of her car. Both women smiled at one another, taking steps to approach the other blonde. Rebekah was the first one to make a move as she embraced Gwen in a tight hug, the action being returned by the latter.

"You're really leaving," Gwen said as she pulled away, but she kept a tight grip on both of Rebekah's hands. "Clean slate?"

Rebekah laughed. "Better late than never."

"I'll make sure that you can come back," Gwen said, filled with determination.

"It's not worth the trouble," Rebekah said while shaking her head. "We can all live happily now that everything is out in the open. I can actually breathe without that weighing heavily on my shoulders, always like a dagger on my back, which is why I want to take this opportunity to leave without any doubt of leaving my family uncared for." She glanced down for a moment, gathering her thoughts and looked up to lock her eyes on Gwen's. "I know that this is a lot to ask, but I ask that you keep them safe, especially that miracle child."

Gwen smiled and nodded. "I promise I'll give it my all."

"Not your life, preferably," said Rebekah. "There's a bother of mine that would lose his sanity if he were to lose you."

Gwen wrapped her arms around Rebekah, realizing that it would be some time before they would see each other again. "I promise that I will keep them in line and safe from harm."

Rebekah could not help but smile.

* * *

Klaus and Kol returned home to find a group of the vampires that had once followed him congregated in the courtyard. All of their eyes turned to the two Original brothers that were quite perturbed by the amount of people in their home, especially by those who held so much animosity in their eyes toward them. This did not help with the sour mood that followed them like a dark cloud hovering over their heads.

"Is there a reason why you lot are loitering in my home?" Klaus asked, almost growling. "You see, my brother and I are already in a foul mood with one another, so we just want to go our separate ways and try not to slaughter each other."

"We can't say the same for anyone who'll provide a distraction from our current predicament," Kol said when he found that he and Klaus were surrounded by the vampires. "And we need an outlet."

"That won't be necessary." Marcel appeared from the crowd of vampires to face both brothers. "I asked them to be here. You and I need to settle this out in the open."

Kol sighed heavily, his head tilted upward with his eyes closed. "And here I thought I could just relax for what remained of this horrid night."

"I thought you would've run off by now," Klaus said as he faced Marcel. He was in no mood and would prefer to simply keep his mind occupied by other things that had nothing to do with recent events.

"Yeah, well, this is my town," Marcel argued. "You may want me to beg forgiveness, but I'm not sorry. I may not be able to beat you, but I came here to face you, to end this in front of my people. If you're gonna kill me for that, get on with it."

"I'm not in the mood for your theatrics and dramatic acting." Klaus tapped Kol's shoulder as he walked toward the stairs to the second floor. "Do as you please."

Everyone in the room was confused by his reaction, including Kol. They all thought that he was going to bite into Marcel's words and attack, but he simply walked away without another word as he headed to his room to do as Kol had thought of doing.

Kol smirked at the shocked Marcel. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Kol!" Gwen's shout stopped him, causing the youngest Mikaelson brother to groan in annoyance before turning to his girlfriend that stood at the entrance of the Compound.

"He deserves it," Kol tried to argue.

"I know, but I doubt that this is what your sister would want," Gwen said, which was enough to have Kol calm down. She stepped forward while looking around at the vampires. "If you all want to follow a little boy that takes advantage of someone else's misery, regardless of who they are, to simply whine and play the victim, then you're all fools. Most importantly, this boy who tries to be a man"—he pointed to Marcel—"consciously brought someone who eradicates _all_ vampires and didn't give a rat's ass that it would mean the end of all who stand here."

Murmurs were heard all around them from the vampires.

"Also, someone else has a bone to pick with you," she told Marcel.

Suddenly, Marcel was thrown against a wall by a strong force that sped into the room with supernatural speed. Standing with Gwen and Kol was Elijah, adjusting his suit as he addressed the vampires that were present.

"Good evening," Elijah greeted the crowd, while Marcel stood back up on his feet after allowing his body to heal from the sudden assault. "I trust I need no introduction. After all, this was once my family home. Tonight I'm taking it back." His next words were directed to every vampire that was not his family, or Gwen. "Your privileges here have been revoked." He turned to Marcel. "Marcellus, out of respect for my sister, I will grant you this one mercy." He pointed at the young vampire with an index finger. "I will allow you to keep your life. However, you're hereby exiled." Elijah dropped his hand and walked a few steps back, but his face did not betray the seriousness in his voice. "If I so much as find a trace of you in the French Quarter, it will not end well for you. Do you understand?" He waited a beat, and then turned to the crowd. "That is all." He made a shooing gesture with his hand. "Run along."

All vampires, including Marcel, started to file out of the compound while murmuring under their breaths.

Having watched Elijah's display from the balcony of the second floor, Klaus said, "Nicely done, brother." This gained the attention of both of his brothers and Gwen. "You're beginning to sound like me. I'm impressed."

Gwen gave Klaus an unimpressed look. "Goodnight, Grumpy."

Gwen then went to walk up the stairs with Kol trailing behind her as they made their way to their room. Once inside their room, she allowed herself to fall on the bed, her body craving comfort and rest. Kol smiled before he joined her, lying on his side to stare at her.

"How was your day?" he asked, which had them both laughing.

"It was long," she whispered as she scooted closer to him, allowing him to place an arm around her waist. "And I just want it to end."

"It will, as soon as you close your eyes," he said, watching her eyes begin to fall. He leaned in and placed a short kiss on her lips before tucking her face into his neck, wrapping his arms around her as his mind took him to the inevitable course of his curse, but he was determined to overcome it for the women he held in his arms.

In his study, Klaus had pulled out a wooden box and placed it on a coffee table in front of the armchair he sat on. He lifted the lid and the first thing his eyes fell on was the little wooden knight he had carved over a thousand years ago and that he had given to Rebekah during a storm to calm her down. He remembered back when he and Rebekah were children, and started to tear up at the fact that she was no longer by his side.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rebekah, having said her goodbyes to Marcel and Hayley, was on the highway out of New Orleans in her red convertible. She had been anxious about leaving behind everything that was her family, but after a moment, she smiled as she headed for a new adventure without being tied down by the chains that was her family.

She was finally free.

* * *

 **End of chapter! I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **IMPORTANT! I have a proposition to offer you guys that has been brought to my attention by a few people. Okay, so if any are interested in wanting to see steamy scenes between Gwen and Kol (they will be my main focus on this) during sexy times that I omit, then let me now. If I do this, I'll have to bump the story up to M, which is why I want to hear your opinions regarding that.**

 **Thank you all for your support and hope you guys stay on board.**

 **See you soon!**


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